


Deathless

by PlushPanda



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types
Genre: Death!Bella, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-19
Updated: 2019-04-29
Packaged: 2019-08-26 02:24:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 24,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16672969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PlushPanda/pseuds/PlushPanda
Summary: Rosalie escapes Death once, only to encounter her again in present day Forks.ORBella is Death. Sort of.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Lemme start by saying that I think I saw the Twilight movies about a decade ago, so I don't know much about the series, but I know enough (thanks, wiki) to execute this dumb idea I had *finger guns*
> 
> This fic is gonna be lighthearted (eventually), as per my style. I ain't got time for the drama.

Rosalie was there to witness the car crash completely by accident, despite her supernatural abilities. She’d been washing her face in the creek, ridding herself of the more gruesome blood stains, when she heard screeching tires and an awfully loud crash. Metal creaked unpleasantly, and another crash thundered through the woods.

Normally, Rosalie would know better than to investigate, but she had just fed, so she trusted her restraint. She blurred towards the noise, coming to stand at a road with visible tire tracks. The marks were easy to find, the black stripes across the asphalt still smelling strongly of burned rubber.

Also, the smoking wreck folded around a tree around fifty feet down the hill was a big hint.

She was about to head down the steep incline, when the sound of footsteps drew her attention to a figure standing next to her. The figure was a woman in her twenties, face mostly obscured by long dark hair and a large wine-colored hoodie.

The crash must have attracted a disaster tourist, ruining her chances to do damage control.

Rosalie’s assumption was quickly corrected when the woman stepped forwards, skidding down the dirt incline.

“Hey!” Rosalie called, taking a step forward but catching herself just in time. It wouldn’t do to expose herself to humans. Even if it was to save one from making a stupid mistake.

“Huh?” During the next split second, the stranger turned to look at who was yelling, her dark eyes widening as her foot caught on loose ground or whatever—Rosalie wasn’t paying much attention to her feet. “Whu—oh shit!” She toppled over, rolling the rest of the way down until she hit the side of the crashed car with a sickening crunch.

Rosalie grimaced, quickly checking the road for other bystanders before speeding over. The air was thick with gas fumes and smoke, and she kneeled over the woman, intending to get her away from the wreck that was quickly turning into a bomb.

“I’m—ugh, oh God—I’m fine!” she coughed, all kinds of bones snapping as she rolled onto her hands and knees. “Get him—the driver.”

Rosalie was unsure what to think of the woman and her many not-so-fine-sounding injuries, but at the sight of healthy determination reflecting in her brown eyes, she followed the suggestion.

The driver was obscured by a cracked window, and she made quick work of it, smashing it with a controlled tap of the elbow. A wave of fresh blood assaulted Rosalie, staggering her for a moment as she held her sleeve in front of her nose. The man inside showed no sign of bleeding, but was wheezing to get a decent breath in. She was suddenly infinitely grateful the crash interrupted her hunt.

The disaster tourist took her inaction as an opportunity to unlock the door and try to open it. When it didn’t budge, she pushed inside to free the man, inelegantly lifting him through the window.

Rosalie’s lip lifted in a snarl. If she had just waited, she could have forced the door open and carried him to safety. The hubris of man just signed his death warrant. And the worst of it was that she couldn’t do anything about it without revealing herself.

She bit back her anger, and helped to lift the man through the window, making sure to take most of the weight before the woman got herself killed too. They dropped him a generous distance from the smoking wreck, and the woman kneeled down beside the driver, grasping his hand like they were familiar.

Rosalie was about to suggest calling 911 when a familiar crackling made the hairs on her arms stand on end. She twisted around so fast, the movement seemed instantaneous, and she caught sight of the crackling spark, setting fire to the leaked gas.

She didn’t stick around to watch the fire spread, falling to her knees and grasping the woman to the front of her chest to protect her from the incoming blast.

The shockwave didn’t knock Rosalie over, but pieces of flying shrapnel did. She took the brunt of the impact, landing sideways in the dirt.

The sudden change of scenery left her slightly disoriented, and her eyes roamed to find the woman talking to the man, who was by all means on the cusp of death. By the time Rosalie had gotten up, the man had become completely silent.

“I’m sorr—“

“Ugh, holy—fuck!”

Rosalie’s mouth fell open, then quickly snapped shut so she could shoot the woman an indignant frown. She reached for something that Rosalie belatedly realized was a shard of metal, lodged in her side. Before she could advise against pulling it out, it was already too late.

“Oh, okay, that stings,” she hissed through gritted teeth, dropping the bloodied shard in the grass next to her. She looked up at Rosalie, making prolonged eye contact. The only reason Rosalie didn’t respond was because she was stumped at the progression of events. “Sorry about the blood.”

Rosalie glanced down at the blood on the woman’s hands, preparing herself for the onslaught of instincts, only to find them absent. ”What,” she breathed, brain kicking into gear. Her eyebrows furrowed as she stared her down. “Why would blood bother me?”

“You’re—you—” she spoke haltingly, appearing out of breath even though she was still sitting on the ground. She tilted her head, looking almost pained to produce an explanation.

Or maybe she was literally pained.

“Rosalie?” she whispered.

Rosalie perked up, facial features slackening in alarm.

###

Twigs snapped underneath Rosalie’s boot as she came to a stop in the woods. She looked around cautiously, unaware of how she arrived there. Instinctively, she reached out with her senses.

Birds chirped in the distance. A squirrel scurried up a tree. The wind rustled leaves. A stray car drove down the road much farther away.

She shook off the slight haze that had settled in her mind, and continued her way back home.

###

Rosalie wandered the streets of downtown Forks. The sun had set around an hour ago, casting a chilly blanket of darkness over the town.

The past few days had felt strange to her, like the color gradient of her surroundings were off; like she’d gone deaf to a warning shout; or maybe like she had forgotten something important. That seemed the most likely, as she wasn’t aware of vampire senses being able to deteriorate, but for the life of it, she could not remember what was important enough to simultaneously forget and mull over.

She focused on breathing in the cool air, eyes and ears roaming the streets for a distraction from the unsettling feeling churning in her stomach.

A couple of men were arguing in their car in the parking lot, having a screaming match about faulty directions and whose fault it was.

A group of girls were walking down the street, some of their arms linked as they talked and laughed on their way to their destination.

A sole woman stood in front of a store front, producing an obnoxious slurping sound as she sucked on the straw of what seemed to be a strawberry milkshake.

Rosalie’s step faltered as she took in the woman. There was something about the picture that she painted that intensified the unsettling feeling. She’d seen people wear hoodies underneath peacoats before, but in combination with the unruly hair and pale features, it—it just nagged at her and she couldn’t let it go.

She approached the woman, and with every step in her direction, she also came closer to... it. Whatever it was. She could almost taste it.

Once Rosalie was a few feet away, the woman noticed her presence and looked up, eyes large and questioning, the straw still pressed between her lips.

It hit Rosalie like a freight train. Roughly half an hour worth of memories spilled into her mind. The crashed car, the driver who died, the explosion, the revelation that Bella knew her from somewhere—

Whoever this was, she had violated her mind. Before she was conscious of her actions, she had rushed forwards and roughly grasped the woman by the collar and pushed her against the concrete wall. The milkshake fell to the ground, spilling its meager contents. “What are you?” she growled. “What else did you take from me?”

Miraculously, Bella didn’t choke on her drink, but she did let out an uncomfortable, deep weeze, preventing her from answering immediately. “What?” she gasped, hands shooting up to clutch at Rosalie’s arm.

The cloth beneath her hands tore with the strength of her grip. In the distance, the vague smell of wet grass and pine permeated. It was strange in the context of the dry urban parts of Forks, but Rosalie didn’t pay it much attention. “Don’t play dumb with me.”

“I’m not! I’m not, I swear,” she said quickly, holding on fast. A pleasant heat seeped into Rosalie’s arm where her hands were. “I didn’t take anything from you.”

Rosalie drew back her lip in a snarl, inching closer until she could feel Bella’s breaths coming fast and shallow against her cheeks. “You took my memories of you!” she whispered harshly. “You better start talking before I start breaking bones.”

Bella’s eyes widened, stopping her wiggling. “Jesus. Calm down. I’ll tell you everything. There’s no need to get violent.”

Rosalie blinked, unsure if she was serious or not. She wasn’t about to take the chance of forgetting again, however, so she kept her grip. “Then speak.”

“I come for the dead. To make their passing easier,” Bella whispered, looking around to make sure no one was listening in. “I could be death? I don’t know.” Her breaths started coming easier and her stiff posture relaxed as she spoke. It was oddly infectious, and Rosalie found her grip slackening as well. “People shouldn’t be able to see me when I’m—when I’m working.”

Rosalie furrowed her brow, not quite understanding (or believing, for that matter), but needing more information.

“I think—look, I’m not going anywhere. Could you let go?” she asked, gingerly patting her arm. When Rosalie didn’t budge, she continued in a soft voice, “We met in the 1900s. I—I was there for you, but a man took you away.”

Rather than entertaining her, Rosalie scoffed. “That describes nearly half of the vampire population—”

“You were left for dead!” She stopped talking, grimacing and wiggling in frustration. “Why don’t you remember?” she hissed to herself, then glanced down at where her hands were holding Rosalie’s clothed arm. “Fuck it,“ she said, and Rosalie nearly reared back when one hand shot down her arm to cover her hand and the other reached out to touch the side of her neck.

Rosalie gasped softly at the warmth that slithered across her skin, settling quick and deep in her chest, melting her from the inside out. The scent of wet grass and pine seemed to originate from directly around them, as if they were standing in a clearing, even though they were in the middle of the street. She felt soft and malleable, almost human, and she suddenly realized where she’d seen those kind brown eyes before.

###

Rosalie’s world was reduced to betrayal, pain, and fear as she lay on the muddy ground. Her body was suffused in it, choking, and there seemed to be no end to the creeping torture. Even the sky was void of light.

“—here, I’m here!” A panicked voice came to a halt next to her. But it was too late, Rosalie thought bitterly, hatefully. “Shit, I should’ve come sooner.”

Rosalie squeezed her eyes shut, unable to ignore the acidic burn of pain, both physical and emotional. Even dying had to become a humiliating experience for her.

A hand came to rest on top of her own, and it seeped warmth without restrictions. Rosalie wanted to recoil from the touch, but the warmth seeped into every corner of her mind and body with such speed, bringing so much desperately needed peace, the impulse faded as quick as it came. Breathing was difficult, but no longer constricted, her blood stopped roaring in her ears, and her skin didn’t creep uneasily.

Suddenly, the hand disappeared, along with the calm. “Don’t.” Her eyes shot open, coming face to face with sad, brown eyes. It took a moment, but Rosalie realized the croaked plea was her own.

“Shh, I’m not going anywhere,” Bella whispered. There was a brief rustling as she took off her jacket and Rosalie felt a hand on her neck, lifting her gently and letting her rest on the much softer folded piece of clothing.

The hand wrapped itself around hers again, and this time, Rosalie found herself clutching to it and everything it brought. The calm returned, and Rosalie swore she could hear birds chirping, and smell the warm, drying earth after a spring shower.

“You’re not alone,” Bella said, attracting Rosalie’s attention once again. She hovered close, kneeling in the mud next to her. “Everything is going to work out, you’ll see. You will be loved and at peace.” She raised her hand, carefully removing the hair from Rosalie’s face. Her soft smile felt like the sun’s warm rays. “And I’m going to stay and make sure it happens.”

Rosalie was doubtful at first, but something about her seemed so honest and the words rang so true, she ended up believing her. She didn’t even realize she had let go of the rage and injustice, no longer mourned the possibilities she lost in life, because everything was going to turn out fine.

She had been so anchored by kind brown eyes, that it felt like a shock to her system when she looked up and away from her. They were focused on a man, rushing over and announcing he was a doctor before he so much as touched her. She knew, rationally, that he was trying to help, but she didn’t care. As long as she held on, she was going to be fine.

He moved quickly and with practised hands, only stopping after he had assessed the gravity of her wounds.

It felt like ages before the world started moving again.

The man helped Rosalie up in a sitting position and it hurt, but she still felt fine, clutching to the peace, to Bella. Worry only began to nip at her feet when Bella looked stricken, when she desperately tried to push the man away from her. She thought she caught her punching him too, but there was no impact.

Rosalie frowned, eyes still glued to Bella as she tried to piece everything together, before a sharp pain exploded from her neck, ripping her from peace’s embrace.

###

Rosalie only stopped running once rational thought caught up with her, and she wasn’t surprised she was surrounded by the woods once again. She’d looked Death in the face, not once, but twice. And what was worse, Death witnessed her at her most vulnerable, only for Rosalie to attack and threaten her a century later. Surely, Death was familiar with the more extreme emotions and held no grudges?

She slumped against a nearby tree, regaining her senses one by one. The bark was rough against her shoulder, chipping away easily underneath her weight. Her hands were still clenched tight, and she made a conscious effort to loosen them.

Something sparkling fell from her slackened hand, along with a piece of cloth that used to be part of Bella’s collar.

Still feeling a little numb, she reached down and picked up a shiny trinket from between dry leaves. It appeared to be a silver medallion, around half an inch wide, hanging from a broken chain. With a barely visible grimace, she realized she must have torn it from Death’s neck during her escape.

She turned the medallion over, revealing the design in the dim moonlight. It depicted a man standing on a simple boat, the type of robes he was wearing and the style of the imprint seeming greek. “Charon?” she whispered to herself.

Maybe she hadn’t insulted Death, but just the ferryman that helped souls cross over.

“Great,” she muttered sarcastically, realizing she only doomed herself to wander the afterlife endlessly.

Thankfully, if luck was with her, she had a long, long undead life ahead of her to wander the world aimlessly.

She figured there were two things she could do; forget about it and hope the ferryman did the same or embark on a journey to find her and apologize.

Casting a glance at her surroundings, she pocketed the medallion.


	2. Mobile Death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thanks to dare121 for daring (hah) to beta my story and putting up with all my questions 8)
> 
> This chapter features a guest star from the Last of Us, because why the fuck not!

Several weeks later, Rosalie stood in the parking lot of the hospital, leaning against her car as she waited for Carlisle to come down. She folded her arms, eyeing the large building and its many windows, belatedly realizing she was searching for a familiar figure. It would make sense for Death to be at a hospital, but really, how big were the odds that Bella would be at a hospital in Forks when there was an entire world full of dying people.  
  
“You look hungry.”  
  
Rosalie would have smashed a dent in the side of her precious Mazda at the sound of Bella’s voice, were it not for a lifetime of practising control. As it was, she whipped her head to the woman with a speed that was unbecoming of a human.  
  
“Really hungry,” Bella added with a raise of her brows. She rummaged around her bag of McDonalds and pulled out a few fries. “Is this, like, your drive through?”  
  
Rosalie watched Bella eat her fries, momentarily short circuiting because the entire situation seemed so... normal. Bella looked like a regular girl eating regular fast food. Until her question registered. “Don’t be crude,” she grumbled, scowling. Her eyes found a safer place to land than Death, dismantling the architecture of the building in front of her. The vague smell of pine and wet grass permeated the air. It brought a certain nostalgic peace with it that Rosalie was starting to notice. It appeared often enough that she was starting to associate it with Bella, and she wondered if it was a supernatural phenomenon.

“Crude,” Bella snorted, holding up the paper bag and gathering the last of the fries at the bottom with a few shakes. Satisfied, she lowered it again. “So what does a vampire do in a hospital parking lot?”  
  
“What does Death’s messenger?” The chill of regret grasped at her spine as soon as the words passed her lips. She probably shouldn’t be smart with Death, but she couldn’t help herself.

Bella chewed the last of her food, appearing unresponsive from the corner of Rosalie’s eye. “I guess we’re both being super sketchy,” she chuckled.

“Look,” Rosalie snapped, a little more violent than she meant to, her nerves peaking to the point of action. She made a conscious effort to even out her voice. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but why are you talking to me?”  
  
“Uh.” Bella swallowed, eyebrows hiking up. “I didn’t think I needed a reason?” She glanced off to the side, thoughtful. “Though I guess if I had one, it would be that you know what I am and... that’s really cool?”  
  
“Death must enjoy terrifying the unliving,” she muttered to herself, feeling a sadness overcome her at Death’s cruelty.  
  
“What?” There was some crumpling as Bella balled up her empty bag of fast food. “Oh. Oh, you think I’m haunting you?” she asked, voice breaking at the end. She stepped into Rosalie’s line of vision, and Rosalie begrudgingly met her eyes. Her kind brown eyes soothed some of reality’s sting. “If it were up to me, your suffering would’ve ended in 1933. But it’s not, and I can’t hurt you any more than any other human. I could even—maybe I could make it better.”  
  
Rosalie’s brow crinkled. Her heart ached at the possibility that life could get better. “You remember the year?”

“I’m trying to tell you that I remember everything, and that I—I don’t know. I just want to talk.” She sighed, releasing the tension she was holding in her shoulders.  
  
Rosalie tightened her arms around herself, at the possibility that Bella had witnessed the last moments of her human life. She never found out how much she knew and it put her on edge.

“Maybe talk some shit about the guy who broke my hand?” Bella added, trying to lighten up the mood, flexing her fingers in either memory of the injury or nervousness.  
  
“What’s this I hear about a broken hand?” Carlisle asked, smiling pleasantly. It was a testament to how distracted Rosalie was by Bella that she didn’t hear or see Carlisle approaching.  
  
Bella jerked back in surprise, making room for him. She appeared sheepish for being caught off guard, up until the moment she caught a good look at his face. Her change in demeanor was instant. Hands clenched at her paper bag, shoulders tightened, and her jaw clenched. “Old sports injury,” she said stiffly, and Rosalie was stricken by how much warmth her voice lacked.  
  
Carlisle seemed to catch on to some degree, glancing between the two woman in search of a reason for the sudden change. “Those are tricky, yes,” he said, face serious as he nodded.  
  
Nobody spoke for a moment, making the tension all the more palpable. Rosalie still had her arms crossed, while Bella seemed uncomfortable at best due to Carlisle’s interruption.  
  
“We have to go,” Rosalie found herself saying.  
  
The words chipped away at Bella’s stiff posture until she turned back to Rosalie. “Right, sure.” She nodded jerkily, blinking away whatever thoughts she was having. She had mellowed out considerably when she told Rosalie, “I’ll see you around.”

Rosalie was too caught up in her own thoughts to wonder _where_ they’d see each other, and instead took the proffered exit gratefully.

Once they were on their way home, and Carlisle had waved at a colleague and ensured her that, yes, he did have a ride, and no, he definitely didn’t have to walk home, he asked the dreaded question, “Friend of yours?”  
  
Rosalie glanced at the silver medallion hanging from a chain on her wrist, uncovered due to her stretched arm. “Hardly,” she muttered, a softness creeping into her voice unbidden.

Carlisle watched her a moment longer, then peered at the road ahead of them. “She seemed nice,” he said, and Rosalie swore she spotted a smile when he added, “to you.”  
  
Rosalie frowned, and, for lack of better comeback, retorted, “Just make sure to take a car next time.”  
  
“Of course.” Now he was definitely smiling.

###

The next time, it didn’t take weeks for Rosalie to bump into Bella. It was the very next day, even. She walked onto the campus parking lot while Emmett trailed behind to highfive the entire basketball team. Absentmindedly, she wondered how she was going to find Bella again, if maybe the scent of pine and grass could be isolated from the many forest-y smells that Forks had, when an absolute abysmal piece of junk screeched to a halt in a free parking space not too far away. Automatically, her eyes found the driver, ready to judge them to within an inch of their life, only to find familiar pale features.  
  
“Of course,” Rosalie said to herself, slowing down until she came to a stop in front of her own car.  
  
Bella pulled out her phone and didn’t move from her seat, so Rosalie could only assume she was there to pick someone up.  
  
Either in a professional or friendly manner.  
  
Before she could make a decision to hide or approach, Bella looked up from her phone. Their eyes met almost immediately, and, after a moment of surprise induced inaction, Bella raised her hand in a wave.  
  
Rosalie’s feet carried her over to the driver’s seat window.  
  
“You teach here?” Bella asked, glancing between the campus and Rosalie. No hello, no nothing.  
  
“Hello to you too.” Rosalie couldn’t resist taking a look at the tires, to see if they were in the same horrid state as the brakes. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I go here.” The rubber was run down, but appropriately inflated, and she suddenly wished her eyesight wasn’t superhuman, because she could spot the scratches on the brake disks. She swore she could feel a phantom sickness overcome her.  
  
“Are you—what are you having an aneurysm over?” Bella climbed halfway out the window to see what Rosalie was looking at.  
  
Rosalie had to lean back so they didn’t knock heads. A brief whiff of a very human smell assaulted her unexpectedly. It was like a sucker punch to her control, and she swore she missed half a second of memory when she was suddenly looking at Bella’s worried face.  
  
The smell was replaced with pine and grass, grounding her once again.  
  
Peculiar.  
  
“You okay?” Bella asked, eyebrows knitting together. She waved in Rosalie’s general direction. “You spaced it for a moment.”  
  
Rosalie was suddenly very grateful that she didn’t have a heartbeat, because she was sure she’d be blushing at being caught in... whatever. “Am I okay? I’m not the one who’s driving a death trap.”  
  
“Don’t you mean a Death Mobile?” Bella grinned, wiggling her eyebrows.

Rosalie couldn’t believe she had to make a conscious effort not to smile at that lame joke. “I suppose it is more efficient to bring your work with you,” she deadpanned, eyeing the crooked rearview mirror.  
  
Opposed to being insulted for her poor judgement, Bella laughed. “I didn’t peg you for a mechanic.”  
  
“And I didn’t peg you for an idiot, but here we are,” Rosalie shot back, inwardly flinching for that subpar comeback. Thankfully, Bella didn’t seem to mind, and Rosalie balked at the fact that she cared at all.  
  
“Sick burn,” she laughed, eyes crinkling with a lingering smile.  
  
High heels clicked on concrete pavement, the sound making its way over in their direction, and Rosalie glanced over her shoulder to see who it was. A woman with black, curly hair and olive skin was closing in the distance. If she hadn’t recognized her, the formal clothing she wore gave a hint to who she was. “Really?” Rosalie asked, turning back. Bella’s eyebrows raised in question. “Mrs. Williams?”  
  
“Yeah?” Bella said slowly. “I’m staying with her and her wife until I move on.”  
  
That answer raised so many questions, Rosalie didn’t know where to start. Was Bella that poor? Or was that a conscious decision? Why would she move on? Did the amount of deaths rise when she stuck around?  
  
Bella waved at Mrs. Williams. “Hey Dina!”  
  
Her lightweight structures professor was married to woman.  
  
“Ugh, I thought you were getting rid of this junk bucket. Ellie is going to throw a fit,” Dina grumbled, grimacing. Rosalie suddenly liked her more than she already did. Dina’s dismay disappeared once she realized who was keeping Bella company. Then, a smile turned her into politeness itself. “Ms. Hale.”  
  
“Mrs. Williams,” Rosalie answered automatically, taking a moment to relish the uncomfortable way Dina was trying to keep an adequate amount of eye contact.  
  
“Rose!” Emmett called, coming to a stop ten feet away and waving her over with a large smile. “Come on, the basketball game is held at the park.”  
  
Rosalie smiled a large, fake smile. “Don’t get anyone killed,” she told Bella, already walking away. “See you Friday, Mrs. Williams.”  
  
She was barely out of human hearing range before she heard Dina whisper, “ _What the fuck was that?”_  
  
“ _I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to talk about your students like that,”_  Bella answered.  
  
“ _Smartass._ ”  
  
“What’s gotten you in such a good mood, huh?” Emmett asked once Rosalie got to the car, but if his open and expressive face was any indication, he didn’t have a clue what was going on.  
  
And nothing _was_ going on.  
  
Rosalie made sure to school her features in disinterest. “The world is going to miss a couple of idiots, seeing what car they chose to drive. If you can even call it that.”  
  
He glanced back, over his shoulder. “It can’t be that bad—oh okay.”


	3. Death Death

“You’re surprisingly chipper for having a team that just lost,” Rosalie noted, sitting back in her chair as people passed them. It was easier to wait for the small crowd to dissipate than to weave through it and risk the chance of accidentally bumping into people. She hadn’t killed anyone unintentionally yet, and she liked to keep it that way.   
  
“Losing is for humans,” Emmett quipped, grinning. “The game was amazing! I didn’t think Chad would actually do a flip to dunk the basketball.”   
  
Rosalie eyes him skeptically. “He fell on his face.”   
  
He quirked a brow, grin ever present. “Why do you think I liked the game so much?”    
  
She shoved him, and he pretended to be knocked over, distracting him from the smile that she was showing.

Emmett laughed, carefree and boisterous. A passing couple stared at him, awestruck, only for their attention to be diverted to Rosalie.   
  
Rosalie stared right back, making them scamper away faster. It was why she didn’t notice the change in Emmett right away.    
  
He sat up straighter, peeking over the moving people. “Hey, isn’t that the girl with the Death Mobile?”   
  
Rosalie followed his line of sight, trying to find the familiar face—before his words registered. She frowned at him. “You were eavesdropping?”    
  
He held up his hands in defense. “I tried not to, but I didn’t want to interrupt your bantering.”   
  
Her frown turned skewed in confusion. “Bantering?”   
  
“Yeah, you approached her, so... you at least don’t hate her?” he guessed, shrugging. “Might be nice to have a human friend.”   
  
Rosalie was about to remind him of human characteristics and, oh yeah, whether he lost his mind, when she caught wind of a familiar voice.    
  
“Oh thank God,” Bella whispered to herself, maybe a few feet away. “Hey. Hey Rosalie!”    
  
Rosalie turned to the commotion, watching as a smiling Bella climbed over a row of seats to bypass a few stragglers.    
  
Death stepped onto the back of a chair with all the confidence in the world, and then, in a magnificent show of dexterity and control, slipped and fell backwards. “Oh sh—“

Rosalie was out of her chair in a blink of an eye, picking Bella from the air before she gathered too much momentum. The way she fell backwards made catching her in a bridal style the easiest, most natural way, so that was how she ended up holding her.   
  
“—it,” Bella finished, looking around in astonishment. She briefly caught Emmett’s smiling eyes before locking on Rosalie’s impassive gaze. Some of the stress melted from her body as she sagged in her arms. “Oh, that’s cool.”   
  
Rosalie frowned, feeling Bella’s warmth as she let her down, to the point that she could almost feel it in her face. Still, she smelled... nothing. Scentless warmth, with a note of pine and grass in the distance.   
  
Emmett shook his head, looking more amused than anything as he gave the area a quick once over.   
  
“Hey, uh, Rosalie’s boyfriend?” Bella greeted Emmett, slightly fidgety as she looked him up and down. “Bearfriend...?” she corrected herself jokingly, grinning. No doubt she was commenting on his impressive size.

“Hah!” He clapped a hand onto his thigh, shooting Rosalie a look. “I like her already.”   
  
Rosalie scrunched her nose at the idea of dating Emmett. She loved him, yes, but she wasn’t in love with him. “Bella, this is Emmett, my step-brother. Emmett, Bella.”   
  
“Bearfriend then,” Bella confirmed with a nod.    
  
Rosalie folded her arms, ignoring Emmett’s gleeful expression as he witnessed the not-banter. “Not that I don’t appreciate your second suspicious and sudden appearance today, but why are you here?”    
  
“Oh! Yeah.” She turned to face Rosalie. “I heard Emmett shout something about a basketball game earlier, and I needed to talk to you.”   
  
Rosalie raised an expectant eyebrow.   
  
“Uh, right. So, you know things about cars?” she asked, bumping her fist into an open hand in what looked like a show of nerves.   
  
“Know about cars? Rosalie would put the local mechanics out of business if she opened up shop,” Emmett crowed. His chair creaked as he leaned forwards, only backing off slightly at Rosalie’s pointed look. He mimed locking his mouth and leaned back again, much to her relief.   
  
The information seemed to brighten Bella’s mood. “Oh sweet, I was gonna ask if you could recommend a shop or mechanic, but maybe you’d like to take a look yourself?”   
  
Everything in Rosalie screamed yes. The sheer amount of satisfaction it would bring just to improve its obvious faults... well, it would be cathartic at best. And it wasn’t like she didn’t have the spare time or was curious to find out why Death kept finding her.   
  
Still, she had to mention the obvious. “You know it’s cheaper to just buy a new car?”   
  
“Probably.” Bella shrugged, smile crooked. “But I like this one.”   
  
Rosalie watched her for a second, and noticed how easily the genuine glint slipped from her eyes. She had a feeling there was more to it, but she couldn’t fathom what and she wasn’t going to pry when they were out in the open.   
  
“I guess I wouldn’t want to be responsible for any unnecessary deaths,” Rosalie mused, pretending to think it over despite the enthusiasm she felt. She heard Emmett breathe in to speak, and she cut him off, “Fine, but you’re paying for the many,  _ many _ replacement parts I’m gonna need.”   
  
“Great!” she cheered, apparently completely okay with the additional costs. She took out her phone and unlocked it, handing it over. “I’ll send you the address and you can let me know when you’re available.”   
  
Rosalie didn’t look up from entering her number as she muttered, “For the sake of mankind, soon.”

Bella was gone soon after that, mentioning something about having to walk home to prepare dinner. She was hardly out of earshot when Emmett piped up again, words spilling out all at once like he’d been holding himself back. “She-likes-you.”   
  
“Hmn?” Rosalie turned to look away from Bella’s retreating form to come face to face with his shiteating grin.   
  
“She came all the way over here, on foot from wherever, to ask for references?” he summarized, raising his eyebrows meaningfully.   
  
For some reason, Rosalie hadn’t really looked at it like that. She had been too focused on Death to notice what was happening in life. She took a metaphorical step back from the situation and reviewed all their interactions with a more sober attitude. Bella had been objectively kind from the start, and had taken her initial fight or flight reaction in stride. Reluctantly, she had to concede, “Maybe.”

“Not to mention, she knows you’re a vampire and you almost outed us just now to—“

“Shut up.”

###   
  
Rosalie had to check the truck to determine what needed to be replaced or repaired, and she did so during a short visit to the Williams’. The car was completely void of any brand names, to the point that she wondered if it was custom made. It was completely fascinating, save for its sorry state and the copious amount of heavy iron parts that were used. She had a feeling that she could shave off a lot of weight by cleaning out rust and using alloy fasteners alone.    
  
Sadly, a lot of the damage could’ve been prevented by regular maintenance. She wished she could cry when she saw the brakes had practically fused together, and promptly channeled that energy into telling Bella not to drive the literal Death Mobile until she was done.   
  
A few days later, once she’d scavenged most of the parts she needed, she gave Bella a heads up and showed up at her temporary home at a reasonable time on a Saturday. She’d barely parked her car when the garage opened, revealing Bella and the truck.    
  
Bella smiled and waved, jogging over to help carry her things inside. She appeared to be fine in her flannel shirt despite the cool weather. “Whoa. This looks like... a lot,” she said, eyeing the larger box that Rosalie picked up with ease.   
  
Rosalie looked up, spotting the trepidation in Bella’s eyes. “I’m not returning these parts.”   
  
“Huh?” Bella snapped out of whatever thought she was lost in. “Oh, uh, no. Of course. Let’s get to it.” As if to prove her point, she reached for a box labeled as ’fluids,’ which was probably a poor decision, considering the grunt she let out when she lifted it.   
  
Rosalie arched an eyebrow in amusement, watching as Bella struggled to bring it over to the garage. She followed after her. “Maybe you should let me do the heavy lifting.”   
  
“What? Pfft, no. What are you talking about?” Bella wheezed, soldiering on. She hurried the last few steps and almost threw the box on a sturdy iron table. “Piece of cake!” she breathed heavily, leaning her hands on the table.   
  
Rosalie shook her head, lowering her box to the ground with the elegance that Bella lacked. “I thought aging made people wiser.”

“Wise-ass, maybe,” Bella quipped, turning around to face Rosalie. “Besides, how else am I going to make you comfortable? Pizza and pop?”   
  
Rosalie tilted her head in thought, and shot her a pointed look around neck height. “You regenerate lethal wounds, don’t you?”   
  
Bella shifted slightly in place, self aware. “Yeah, why do you ask—oh.” She snorted. “You’re such an ass.”   
  
“That’s one of my more admirable aspects,” she retorted offhandedly, heading back to her car to get the rest of her stuff.   
  
“That’s rich coming from someone who just called me a snack!”   
  
Rosalie paused in front of the trunk of her car, realizing with a start that Emmett had been right. They were definitely bantering. Her words were meant to sting, but instead they were taken as friendly jabs. Bella’s responses sucked her into a downwards spiral of… bantering. And worst of all, she didn’t hate it.   
  
“Was that—was that too much?” Bella asked from right beside her, seemingly appearing out of thin air even though Rosalie was pretty sure she’d just been walking behind her.   
  
Rosalie looked straight at her then, trying to gauge why Bella was being so sympathetic. Her face gave away nothing, however. With her eyebrows slightly raised, she just appeared inquisitive.    
  
She could no longer stand it. She had to know.

Rosalie kicked in the proverbial door. “How much did you see of my death?”   
  
By the way Bella blinked, she didn’t see that question coming. Still, despite the 180 the conversation took, she answered. “Uh, like, the man who tried to murder you?”   
  
Rosalie frowned at the use of the singular man. “You weren’t there,” she concluded, feeling a bit of anxiousness leaving her.   
  
Bella shook her head, eyes far away as she remembered. “I wasn’t gonna come at all, because your, um,  _ death _ felt weird. Not quite tangible.” Hands at her sides, she rubbed her fingers together as if she was physically touching something. She settled her eyes back on Rosalie, a seriousness there that she hadn’t seen before. ”But I’m glad I came. Judging from what I said, you deserved a bit of peace.”   
  
Rosalie narrowed her eyes, the words striking her as odd. “Judging from what you said...?”   
  
“I’m not sure how to explain,” Bella said, letting out a long breath. By all means, she looked as if she was about to do complicated math.   
  
One question answered, several raised.   
  
“Hey, Death Death!”   
  
Both Rosalie and Bella looked over at the house. A woman with brown hair and a wicked forearm tattoo stood in the garage, hands on her hips. The glint of a simple ring on her ring finger drew Rosalie’s attention, and she could only assume she was the professor’s wife.   
  
“Is your guest staying over for lunch?” She didn’t wait for a reply, walking over.   
  
“Absolutely not!” Bella said, a little too passionately and a little too quickly.   
  
Despite the interruption of their serious conversation, Rosalie felt amusement bubbling up, and if she smiled, no one commented on it.   
  
“Wow, you jerk. Be more polite, why don’t you?” The woman frowned at Bella, clearly disapproving of her tone. Now that she was standing close enough to talk at a normal volume, the design of her ferns and moth tattoo was clearly visible. Her scent was notably intermingled with Dina’s, and any doubt about her relationship status was wiped.   
  
Still, that only drew attention to how Rosalie  _ couldn’t _ smell Bella.   
  
“Your answer would be the same if you knew what she ate,” Bella said, crossing her arms in an almost petulant fashion.   
  
Ellie narrowed her eyes, directing her question to Rosalie, “What, are you vegan?”   
  
Rosalie glanced at Bella, who was no help whatsoever with her curious, doe-like eyes. However, Rosalie did notice Ellie called Bella Death Death, so she had to know about her extracurricular activities. But then, she asked if she was vegan, so she obviously did not know about her undead status. If she was taught anything, it was better to be safe than sorry. “I only eat... organically,” she ended up saying.   
  
Next to her, Bella covered up her laugh with a cough.   
  
“Weird way to say that, but okay,” Ellie conceded. “Weird attracts weird.”   
  
“Your face attracts weird,” Bella said dryly.   
  
“ _ Your mom _ is weird,” Ellie countered immediately.

Rosalie backed out of the conversation before she got dragged into it further and grabbed another box, wondering what the hell she had gotten herself into and whether she should outsource the Death Mobile project to a local mechanic anyway. Another look at the truck and its many quirks, however, had her sticking around. She was cursed with a hobby she loved, after all.   
  
“ _ You’re not even gonna help her carry anything? _ ” Ellie whispered in the background.   
  
“ _ She told me not to! _ ” Bella answered indignantly.   
  
Rosalie rolled her eyes skywards. God help her soul.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nnngh finally, some quality banter!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lost a scene of about 1000 words, which I didn’t have the heart to rewrite so I summarized it and indicated it with FML. Ugh, there were stupid jokes in there too.
> 
> That’s one reason why this chapter is a little later than usual, but also because I was insecure about my writing. When you feel like it’s not as good as before, you get less enthusiastic ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

Ellie left soon after, with a well meant good luck to Rosalie and a soft-spoken threat to treat her guests better to Bella.    
  
Bella stood around the door that lead to the house and waited a long moment before opening it a crack, peeking inside. Satisfied with whatever she found, she closed the door and asked Rosalie, “Anything I can do to help?”   
  
Rosalie, who had been watching her strange behavior from the corner of her eyes, suddenly understood. Bella was waiting for Ellie to be truly gone before she got to treating her guest better, like a daughter reluctantly following her mother’s good advice. It was strangely amusing to see an immortal listen to a human like that.    
  
“Do you know how to use a jack?” she asked, already planning and prioritizing repairs in her mind. Getting the car to a bridge would be preferable, but that would require a tow truck or for the car to not be a death trap.   
  
And Rosalie loved a challenge.   
  
“I can,” Bella said, getting to work while Rosalie made a to-do list.    
  
She sped through the list at superhuman speed to the noise of metal scraping against metal. By the time she was done with planning the most crucial steps, Bella had one jack stand in place.   
  
Bella cleared her throat, fumbling slightly as she rolled the jack to the other side of the car. “So, uh, I’m getting the feeling you... don’t trust me?”   
  
Rosalie stared at the words of the list, unseeing. Her focus was on Bella’s actions and, most notably, her thundering heart. The fact that she was nervous put her slightly at ease. At least she wasn’t the only one who was uncomfortable. “And?”   
  
“And you totally have a right to be, with how I was present during a very vulnerable moment in your life.” Metal screeched against concrete as Bella pushed the second jack stand into place. “But if you want to know something, I’m here.”   
  
Rosalie pulled a blank. She knew there were things she wanted cleared up, but the opportunity was sprung on her and now, just as suddenly, she was drawing a blank.    
  
“Not right now—I mean, sure, now if you want, but also whenever,” Bella continued, audibly losing confidence at Rosalie’s lack of reaction.   
  
“Why can’t I smell you?” she ended up asking, back still turned to Bella though her attention had long strayed from the to-do list. Later, when she was alone, she would realize there were at least three other questions she would have rather voiced, but at the moment, that was all she remembered.   
  
Bella was silent for a second too long before she asked, “Why what now?”   
  
Rosalie turned to face her, crossing her arms despite the pencil she was still holding. “I can smell the dirt under Ellie’s finger nails from across the driveway, but I can’t smell anything about you.”   
  
“Lucky,” Bella said with a half-hearted laugh, but quickly snapped her mouth shut at Rosalie’s stoney features. “Okay, uh. Let me think.” She glanced off to the side for only a moment, but it was enough to gather her wits. “Okay, so, normally, I let the dying use my energy to appease their senses. Pain is taken away or they’ll relive scents or sounds that put them at ease, so they can, y’know, process their death more easily.”   
  
Rosalie’s frown deepened. “Are you saying I’m dying?”   
  
“No! No, definitely not,” Bella was quick to assure, wringing her hands around the handle of the jack. “I noticed you were tapping into that energy, but I wasn’t sure why. I can stop it, but why wouldn’t you want to smell me? Is that, like, a vampire thing?” she asked, scrunching up her face in confusion.   
  
Rosalie stilled. If Bella ended up being her singer, then it was a good thing the death magic dulled her sense of smell. Especially when she bled.   
  
Bella’s face fell. “Oh God. It is, isn’t it?”   
  
“I don’t know,” Rosalie answered, surprisingly honest. “I won’t be able to tell unless I’m faced with it.”   
  
“Is it because I smell bad...?” At Rosalie’s resounding silence and unwavering stoicism, she concluded, “Oh.”   
  
Whatever that meant.   
  
“What?” Rosalie asked, suddenly wary.   
  
Bella grinned. “You would’ve jumped to tell me if I smelled bad, which means it must be the opposite—“   
  
“Shut up and cut the tether,” Rosalie interrupted, more harshly than she meant to.   
  
“Are you sure?” she asked. Rosalie glared at her, and she raised her hands in defense. “Okay.”

For some reason, Rosalie imagined a great gesture to preceed the revelation, but Bella just held her eyes until the change seeped into reality. Gradually and all at once, her senses adjusted. It was as if Rosalie had always known Bella’s scent, and something had triggered the memory.

It was good.   
  
Good enough that Rosalie realized that it was a fantastic idea to block the scent in its entirety, especially considering how they met, but not good enough to be considered singing. It lacked the sharp edge of desperation that a singer inspired. She smelled distinctly human, but it was charged with undertones Rosalie didn’t recognize, and when she inhaled Bella’s warmth, she felt herself coming alive from the inside out.   
  
Bella didn’t move a muscle as Rosalie stood there, inhaling calmly, deeply. As Rosalie realized how completely infuriating it was that she couldn’t find a single thing she didn’t like about it.   
  
Rosalie only emerged from her spiraling thoughts when the pencil in her hand snapped with an audible twack.   
  
Bella jumped at the sound. Once it was apparent nothing else was going to happen, she asked, “So, uh, good?” Her eyes widened after a beat, as she realized how she worded that. “Are  _ we _ good, I mean.”   
  
“Fine,” Rosalie said, her voice surprisingly even for the whirl of thoughts that were going through her mind. It was usually so easy to find fault within people, to keep them a safe distance away, that it was maddening now that she couldn’t.    
  
Bella cleared her throat, ducking slightly underneath Rosalie’s scrutiny. “Okay, cool.” She straightened up, eyes flitting over to her truck. “So what’s next?”   
  
That was a subject Rosalie knew how to deal with.   
  
She gave herself a moment to decide if she should give Bella the boot. It was going to be a challenge, but if her mind was focused on the work, she might be able to get used to the scent and trivialize it. “I work alone.”   
  
Bella’s shoulders slumped in disappointment. “Oh.”   
  
Rosalie rolled her eyes, going ahead to gather the relevant tools. “I said I worked alone. I never said you had to go.”   
  
“Oh!”

### FML ###

Rosalie is not able to trivialize it.   
  
Rosalie can’t get used to Bella’s smell, even after it loses its initial impact. She appears to have softened slightly because of it, and it frustrates her. Still, she doesn’t send Bella away.    
  
Out of nowhere, Bella asks whether items lose their soul when everything about them is restored, and it is heavily implied Bella has an unusual bond with an inanimate object (the car) because she can’t form lasting bonds with people without them dying.    
  
Rosalie wonders if Bella’s unusual smell is weed and if Bella is high, but after seeing her serious look, she sets about making her feel better in her own way by answering that 1) humans replace cells every decade or whatever and 2) she’s leaving the car’s cosmetic parts as is because no one can pay her enough to fix those. She highkey insults the car’s appearance, but compliments its chassis for looking like it can survive an apocalypse.    
  
It works and Rosalie is secretly pleased with herself for cheering Bella up. Bella makes another pun about how she has to keep up appearances and they bond over what a piece of junk the car is. Small talk comes easier, and Rosalie notes that Bella’s scent lost some of its sharper undertones.   
  
### /FML ###

Bella swung her dangling legs as she poked a straw into her Capri Sun. She was enjoying herself. Sure, Rosalie had sidelined her, but watching her work was fascinating, and she didn’t seem to mind the occasional question. She had a wicked kind of humor and Bella would be lying if she said she weren’t fishing for it at every opportunity.   
  
Also, she was lowkey wondering if raglan shirts were a thing for her because watching Rosalie walk around in a black and grey one had her going weak in the knees even more than she had so far. Especially with the way her exposed, dirty forearms flexed every time she ripped off a rusted clamp with her bare hands.   
  
Bella took a long drink from her juice, purposely focusing on anything that didn’t involve the sudden influx of hormones she was experiencing, and noticed that Rosalie’s attention was drawn to her movement. She lowered the pack, wondering out loud, “Is it rude to drink in front of a vampire?”   
  
Rosalie leaned a hand on the motor block, unbothered by the dirt and soot. Her eyes searched the air in front of her, and Bella must have been truly distracted by her face, because she startled slightly when she suddenly pulled rubber tubing loose with an awful sounding twack. “I don’t know. People usually do what they want.”   
  
“That’s... bleak.”   
  
“But they also don’t know what we are,” Rosalie conceded.    
  
Bella nodded absentmindedly, raising the straw to her lips again before realizing she hadn’t gotten an answer yet. “So what do you prefer?”   
  
“I don’t mind. We feed at much larger intervals than humans.” Dark eyes flitted to her, and a shudder ran down Bella’s spine. Her eyes had turned dark a while ago, and she was pretty sure what it meant, but she was scared to have it confirmed. “It’s your decision what kind of disgusting substances you consume.”   
  
Bella snorted. Of course food was gross to vampires. “That’s a bit hypocritical for someone who used to be a human too, no?”

“Please,” Rosalie scoffed, leaning down to adjust the placement of the container she used to catch whatever fluids were leaking now. A silver necklace slipped out of her shirt on the way down, but Bella paid it no mind. “If there is one thing that has eroded over time, it’s the appeal of food.”

Except the silver medallion looked very familiar.   
  
“Holy shit.” Bella clapped a hand over her mouth at the same time Rosalie snapped to attention. Dark, threatening eyes stared her down, and Bella felt distinctly more like prey than friend. The feeling only lingered for a moment, and she created some space between her fingers so her voice wasn’t muffled when she said, “I just realized you will never be able enjoy a cinnamon roll.” She dropped her hand, making a split second decision. ”No, that’s a lie. You’re wearing my necklace.”   
  
To her credit, Rosalie didn’t even flinch. In fact, she calmly resumed what she was doing and grabbed a can that was labeled WD40. “Don’t get any ideas. I’m keeping it around in case I get another spontaneous case of amnesia.”   
  
That wasn’t very nice to hear, and Bella really wanted to reassure her, but simultaneously, she couldn’t wipe the smile from her face because Rosalie was wearing something of hers like a lovestruck teen. “Sorry. I’m not, I swear,” she said quickly. “And it’s totally bad you think I’m purposely wiping your memory, which I’m not, but you’re wearing—holy fuck.”   
  
###   
  
Rosalie was starting to get whiplash from the amount Bella was cursing instead of explaining. “What now?” she snapped.   
  
“You ignored me when I found you in 1934 because you didn’t remember me.” Bella already had bad posture, but the way she sagged in relief and threw her head back had Rosalie wondering if she healed chronic afflictions instantly too. She slapped a hand over her eyes. “And I’m not invisible when I work, but people instantly forget me. I’m so dumb,” she groaned, appearing physically pained by the revelation.   
  
Rosalie just stood there, watching Bella berate herself. While she really, really wanted to make a dumb joke—because really, Bella left herself wide open—a more serious matter drew her attention. “You did what?”   
  
“Hmn?” Bella dropped her hand. It didn’t seem to cross her mind that them meeting before 2018 was relevant until she made prolonged eye contact with a bewildered Rosalie. “Oh, yeah!” She straightened up, talking animatedly, “I wanted to make sure you were okay, because of, well, everything, but you shoulder checked me into the wall on your way to ignoring me, so I assumed you didn’t wanna see me.”   
  
It pained Rosalie to say that wasn’t an uncommon occurrence, so she couldn’t place the memory even if she tried. “Where was this?”   
  
“Baker street, across Roger’s flower shop,” Bella answered, not even needing to think about it.   
  
The location sparked no memory within Rosalie, and her frustration with herself spilled over in her words. “How do you remember all this?” she demanded.   
  
“It’s hard to forget the one girl who got away.” Bella must like to talk before she thought, because she quickly added, “From death,” and, much to Rosalie’s confusion, smiled. Even though it bore all the marks of an awkward slip up, Bella’s heartbeat was steady and her smile was born from amusement.

“Right.” Rosalie shook her head, gladly using the excuse of the Death Mobile to catch a break from Bella’s generous amount of input. She used the WD40 to clear a suspiciously greasy stain, letting the familiar scent ground her. Bella seemed to have both a professional and a personal interest in her, and she didn’t know what to do with that information. “Do you have any music?”   
  
Bella perked up at that.


	5. Death and all her friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is made possible by my beta, dare121, and my... uh, general devil on the shoulder, diaryreadingcat.

A piano song Rosalie hadn’t heard before filled the Cullen household, and she looked up from her book on composite manufacturing methods to have a better listen. Edward had been playing Coldplay the last time, and his picks hadn’t matched her mood in the slightest, driving her insane with restless energy. Preemptively, she whipped out her phone and Shazamed the music.   
  
The app didn’t register any sound.    
  
It took a moment for Rosalie to realize the microphone couldn’t beat her enhanced hearing, but when she did, she rolled her desk chair over to the door and opened it a crack. The music’s volume doubled.   
  
Thankfully, it was enough. The screen announced Coldplay’s “Death and all his friends” with gleeful intent.   
  
The irony wasn’t lost on her.   
  
With a hum of disapproval, she slipped the door closed and wheeled herself back to her desk. She hoped the topic of injection molding could draw her in once more, but her thoughts had already strayed to Bella. In the comfort of her room, after spending the afternoon bathing in Bella’s exotic scent, she found herself being strangely underwhelmed.   
  
Bella seemed very human, but Rosalie’s instincts begged to differ. She couldn’t help but wonder if her initial assumption of Bella being a modern day Charon was correct or if she was actual Grim Reaper Death.   
  
The smooth melody was interrupted downstairs, and Rosalie glared at the door. The lull in sound was only temporary, however. Even a few particularly violent thoughts involving a tire iron didn’t deter the music. She could only assume Edward had shifted his focus.   
  
She unlocked her phone once again, and wrote down all the questions that needed answering. If her thoughts were on (digital) paper, then they wouldn’t be in her mind. Besides, Bella told her she could ask whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted, so if some of those questions ended up in a message headed for a Death Mobile (Phone), that was entirely on purpose.   
  
It surprised her when the messages were marked as “read” not a few seconds after being sent. And she definitely didn’t expect to be called immediately after.   
  
She answered the phone, if only to silence the vibrations.   
  
“Are you okay?” Bella asked as soon as she picked up, her words slightly slurred and her voice notably gritty.   
  
“What?” Rosalie was struck with confusion the likes she hadn’t experienced in a while. “Why do you ask?”   
  
“You messaged me four times in a row at,” something creaked in the background, “3:30 in the morning.”   
  
“Ah,” she muttered, realizing Bella needed sleep, much like a human and definitely not Death. Then again, what did she know? She wanted to answer Bella’s original question, but currently, she was worried about more than Edward eavesdropping by accident. “I can’t talk right now.”   
  
“Um, okay. Do you want to come over?”   
  
Rosalie tried to rub the confused frown from her brow with the tips of her fingers, but for the life of it, she didn’t understand what was going on. “Why would I want—why?”   
  
“Hmn,” Bella hummed sleepily. “Comfort? I don’t like being alone when I’m breaking my head over something at 3am.”   
  
Rosalie’s mind went back to the garage, to being suffused in a scent that got under her skin and soothed at the same time. A curiosity gnawed at her to find out if it was still the same, if it would affect her differently.    
  
Though, if anyone asked, she just wanted answers. Answers were much more important.    
  
Definitely.   
  
“Okay,” she found herself saying, with no real thought behind it.   
  
A muffled goodbye later, she was walking down the stairs, walking faster when Edward looked up from the piano keys and tried to make eye contact.   
  
“Going somewhere?” he asked, music uninterrupted.   
  
“Nope,” she answered airily, completely ignoring the dramatic vibe he was trying to create as she made a beeline for the front door.   
  
“Wait, where are you going?” He stopped playing, following her with his eyes until he could no longer see her and had to stand up.   
  
She swung the door open with a flourish. “Nowhere,” she told him with a smile, slipping out and closing the door before he could say anything else. It was definitely the most conspicuous way to leave, but it suited her just fine at the moment.

###

Halfway to the Williams’ residence, Rosalie received a message asking her if she were spry enough to come in through the window, because Bella didn’t want to wake up Dina or Ellie. Rosalie didn’t bother to reply until she stood underneath an open window. She found she didn’t even need to follow her scent to know where Bella was. Her heartbeat had a distinct, calm rhythm—   
  
Rosalie grimaced as she realized she recognized Bella by her heartbeat,  _ and _ that she was standing below her window like some sort of dumbass in love.   
  
But she wasn’t backing out now. That would only mean she admitted to being said dumbass, which she most definitely was not. With a roll of the eyes at her own thoughts, she jumped. Her control was impeccable, and with a strategic twist in the air, most of her momentum was lost when she landed soundlessly on the carpeted floor of Bella’s room.   
  
She was hit with a veritable wall of Bella’s scent, and she had to stop breathing before—well, she wasn’t sure what the scent was calling her to do, but she knew it wasn’t thirst. It did feel like her legs would give out if she didn’t find its source, however, and it was exciting enough to scare her.   
  
Speaking of the source, she didn’t see Bella anywhere. Not until she took a closer look at the mass of blankets on the bed. Some were kicked aside, but a thick fleece blanket remained wrapped around Bella’s shoulders and torso, leaving her legs uncovered from below the knee. If Rosalie had to guess, she’d gotten up to open the window and fallen back asleep as soon as she lay down again.    
  
The way Rosalie exhaled through her nose could be considered a laugh. “Figures,” she muttered softly, glancing around the room. It appeared to be a study converted into a temporary bedroom. Its walls were lined with bookcases, a modest desk was placed next to the window, and an out of place dresser was pressed snugly into the side of the simple bed.   
  
A bit irritated, Rosalie sat down on the edge of the bed, ready to wake up Bella to tell her she’d arrived, but also that she should be going. Before she could even touch her, however, Bella jumped awake rather dramatically with a sharp intake of breath.    
  
Her bleary eyes shot around the room before focusing on her. “Rose,” she breathed, relieved, sinking back into her pillow. The tone in which she said her name had Rosalie wondering if she could still get goosebumps. “You’re here. Are you okay?”   
  
“Stop asking me that.” Rosalie watched as Bella reached over clumsily and took her hand in hers. Her hackles raised when she pulled her hand towards her face, but instead of kissing it—which she assumed was her intent for a split second—Bella just pressed the back of her hand against her cheek. She was stumped speechless as Bella held her arm like a stuffed animal, dangerously close to sleep with barely opened eyes.   
  
“Good,” Bella muttered, dark eyes focused on her until they fluttering closed. “I’m glad.”   
  
Rosalie’s mouth dropped open as Bella’s breathing slowed and deepened once again. She sat there like that for a good while, completely at a loss. Bella’s warmth was nice against her cold skin, sure, but what the actual fuck happened. Was it some kind of leftover Death knee jerk response to hold onto hands and mutter nonsense? She’d experienced firsthand how Bella held her hand during her death, and saw it happen again with the deceased driver. She knew it was supposed to suffuse her with calm, but now it just felt like Bella was holding her hand.   
  
It was... nice, she supposed, idly tracing Bella’s cheekbone with the backs of her fingers. Weird and mundane, but nice.

It took a moment, because Rosalie was living more in the moment than she had in a while, but she finally realized what position she was in and with who. A slither of panic had her pulling back her hand and stand up. The loss she felt was instant, but she clenched her jaw and snuffed it out, escaping with the practiced swiftness of a stalking predator.

###

Bella woke up cold and confused. She was missing most of her covers, her window was left open, and she couldn’t find her phone in its usual place. She only found her phone when she sat up and saw that it had left a rectangular indent on her upper arm, and then she was confused at discovering Rosalie’s messages, which were marked as read.

_ How human are you? _ __   
_ Can you survive without food? _ __   
_ Does the cold weather bother you? _ __   
  
“Oh fuck,” Bella whispered, rubbing her forehead with the back of the hand that held the cellphone. She definitely didn’t dream up Rosalie’s visit, but worse still, she fell asleep on her. Literally, from what she could recall.   
  
Suddenly much more awake, she went through her morning routine, only going downstairs into the open kitchen when she was dressed and vaguely refreshed. Ellie was already making breakfast while Dina was—well, Bella wasn’t sure what she was doing, but it looked like she was watching Ellie while sipping her tea.   
  
“You don’t look so good,” Dina remarked as soon as she took notice of her.   
  
“Yeah, um, I think something weird happened,” Bella said, running a hand through her unkempt hair as she slipped onto a chair at the kitchen island.    
  
Ellie gave her a quick once over before flipping the omelet she was making. “Did someone die?”   
  
“Huh? Oh, no. I didn’t even leave the house,” Bella answered, leaning her chin on an open hand. “Which is probably the weird part. Rosalie came to visit me last night.”   
  
Dina choked on her tea, coughing for a good minute, while Ellie just started laughing. “Really? And you’re sure this happened in the actual real life world?” Ellie asked, eyes down on the pan.   
  
“Pretty sure,” Bella answered, completely unbothered by their reactions. She wasn’t an idiot, she knew what it sounded like. “I’ve got a few messages and an outgoing call in my history that says so.”   
  
Simultaneously, Ellie and Dina shot her identical incredulous looks.   
  
Bella shifted in her seat. “What?”   
  
Ellie turned back to the food with raised eyebrows, projecting the embodiment of  _ Yikes  _ as she let Dina do the talking. Meanwhile, Dina wiped her mouth with a paper towel, then leaned towards Bella in an almost cautious fashion. “Um. Don’t take this the wrong way, but does Rosalie like you?”   
  
“Of course she does.” It sank in for a moment, and Bella remembered all the moments where Rosalie withdrew into herself. She’d assumed she had trust issues at the very least after being murdered when she was human, but maybe she just didn’t like her. “Wait, does she? Oh God, I don’t know. Am I harassing her?”   
  
Dina paused, blinking at the sudden onslaught of realizations. “Wow, okay.” She moved again. “I doubt you’re harassing her, since Rosalie is pretty vocal about anyone she doesn’t like. She only really hangs out with Emmett.”   
  
Ellie turned off the heat. “You know Rosalie?” She took two plates filled with food, and brought them over. “Wait, is she a  _ student _ ?” she asked Dina, a little stumped. She put down the plates in front of them, posing the next question to Bella. “Isn’t that a little young for you?”   
  
“Wow, way to jump to conclusions there. Maybe I just wanna be friends.”   
  
Ellie rested her hands on her hips, shooting her a look. “Do you?”   
  
“Well, I mean, I wouldn’t complain if it turned romantic, I guess. It might be nice,” she muttered demurely, grabbing a piece of bacon and studying it a little too closely.   
  
Ellie grinned, exchanging a look with a pleased looking Dina. It was a little too much nonverbal conversation for Bella’s taste, especially because she hadn’t expressed interest in anyone ever. The married pair would know, having witnessed Bella sabotage a blind date or two before they were told off rather dramatically.   
  
“ __ Anyway , your grandma would be a little young for me,” Bella said, quickly changing the subject to the original question. Mentally, she high-fived herself for completely bypassing the age-and-probably-vampire thing. “If I only dated people my age, I would be alone forever.”   
  
“Right,” Ellie admitted easily, not even complaining as she got her own plate.   
  
Dina was cutting her eggs with the edge of her fork when she mentioned, “You could talk to her. Just... ask her out and see what happens.”   
  
“Is that normal? I’ve only really known her for a few days. Do people do that so soon?” she asked, still holding her untouched bacon.    
  
Ellie wisely kept her mouth shut as Dina handled the answer. “There aren’t any rules, Bella,” she said with a smile. “Well, aside from consent. Always make sure you have that.”   
  
“I know that,” Bella huffed. “I’m talking about era appropriate social etiquette. Do I ask her dad for permission? Her mom? Is family even important? Should I make a big deal of it?”   
  
“Oh man, please make a huge deal of it,” Ellie begged, laughing under her breath.   
  
Dina smacked Ellie in the shoulder. “Don’t be a dick.”   
  
Bella glanced between the two as they shared a smile, and realized they were her frame of reference for contemporary flirting. “Ugh, I’m so fucked,” she muttered, looking down at her plate, and finally ate her bacon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: *beating the Ellie/Dina feels with a stick* this! is! a! Rosella fic!
> 
> Anyhow, always feel free to leave a comment! If you don't know what to say, maybe let me know your fav part? Comments might not make me write faster, but they do cheer me up ;D


	6. Chapter 6

Monday morning, Rosalie was sitting in the back of her lightweight structures class, listening to Dina explain a homework question and its real life relevance. She thought it would be strange to learn about buckling formula applications from a woman she sort of knew outside of the university, but really, nothing had changed.

Well, except that she now knew Dina had actual emotions and a loving, if wise-cracking, wife.

Also, Dina no longer skipped her when she asked the class questions. Sitting in the back had a tendency to make professors think she wasn’t invested. Kind of like the students around her who were falling asleep or were busy on their phones.

Which is why she felt fine checking her phone when it vibrated. It was the first message she’d received from Bella after her Death related questions. _“Let’s meet up,”_ it read. Then, more messages followed, _“Like, I have questions too. Does sunlight burn? Do you have a vampire family?”_

It seemed like Bella hated writing paragraphs and preferred to hit send after every sentence instead.

There was a silence of about two seconds where Rosalie was going to answer that she was fine with meeting, but more messages poured in. _“I mean, I assume Emmett is a vampire because he’s pale and attractive af.”_

Rosalie arched an eyebrow.

_“Not as attractive as you, ofc. I’m gay.”_ Rosalie waited for the notification that Bella was still writing to disappear, smiling at the fact that Bella’s tendency to ramble translated well into her messages. _“Wow, that was gross. ANYWAY. Meet, y/n?”_

A message from Alice popped up, saying, _“Invite her over for dinner!!”_

The only reason Rosalie was surprised by the sudden message was that it took so long for her to butt in. With the amount of time Rosalie had been spending away from home without an explanation, she’d expected her family to meddle much sooner.

Rosalie ignored it in favor of answering Bella, _“Smooth. I can come over after class, right after lunch?”_

Alice sent her a sad face.

_“Yeah, sure!”_ was Bella’s response. _“I can also borrow a car and visit you, if that’s more convenient?”_

Rosalie considered her family for a second, and decided that Bella needed to be introduced gradually. In between Emmett’s enthusiasm, Edward’s prying, Alice’s intensity, and the weird thing going on between Carlisle and Bella, she wasn’t taking any chances.

She typed out a response, smothering the little voice that wondered why she cared that much by reasoning that Bella wasn’t worth introducing yet. They’d only just become friends. _“Trust me, you’re better off like this.”_

Edward butted in with a completely unexpected, _“I’m here for you, Rosalie. We all are.”_

Rosalie’s eyebrows raised in surprise, and, let’s be honest, confusion. She expected Alice to bump into a premonition of her and Bella at one point, but Edward’s timing was more than suspicious. It wouldn’t be completely out there that he roped Alice into some snooping after she left the house in the middle of the night with thoughts of Death on her mind—ah. That would worry anyone, she supposed.

Unsure what to do with the message, she put her phone away. She definitely made the right choice not to invite Bella over.

###

“Hey, up here!”

Rosalie stopped in her trek to the Williams’ front door, looking up to find a woman peeking over the top of the slanted roof. It took a split second longer for her to realize it was Bella due to the obvious haircut she’d gotten. She’d gotten rid of more than half of her long hair, but kept the same general style, leaving a choppy mess.

It suited her.

Bella shot her a smile by way of greeting, and Rosalie realized it was because she was holding on to something she couldn’t see. “I’m busy right now, but I’ll join you when I’m done,” she said, much too softly for any human, but loud enough for vampire ears.

“What are you doing?” Rosalie yelled back, walking around the house, through the neatly trimmed grass, to see for herself. She stopped short of running into Ellie, who was watching Bella with folded arms.

“Just fixing a few tiles, no big deal!” Bella answered, looking pretty sure of herself as she fiddled around with the roof tiles.

“You’re letting Bella do a chore on the roof?” Rosalie asked Ellie, more than incredulous, eyes never straying from Bella. From the corner of her eye, she could see the woman running a hand across her face. “Since I met her, she fell twice, and hurt herself even more often.”

“I know,” Ellie groaned. “You try arguing with Death that you won’t die during a routine chore. See how well you do.”

Rosalie glanced at Ellie, remembering Bella’s unusual bond to her car. An ache settled in her chest at the thought that Death was fiercely protective of its mortal friends. As a vampire in a coven, she’d never really gotten close enough to a human to mourn their passing, but she could easily imagine being in Death’s shoes.

“She told you I know?” Rosalie asked, her eyes finding Bella again. She tried to move away, to maybe start her work on the truck again until Bella was done, but she could practically feel the accident waiting to happen.

Ellie shrugged. “I guessed. Bella doesn’t really make friends with people who are oblivious.”

Bella appeared to be doing fine, placing and fastening tiles like she’d done it before. Maybe she had. She straightened up, still on her knees, to determine that she was halfway done. Then, she noticed the pair on the ground watching her in different states of worry. “What?” She turned to them. “What are you looking at? Is my underwear showing?” She twisted as much as she could, free hand trailing along her waist, trying to see and feel if she was right.

Famous last words.

Rosalie moved before Bella fully realized she’d lost her equilibrium. She wasn’t entirely sure how she got on the roof that fast, too busy listening to her instincts to move quick and efficient, possibly using a nearby tree as a step up to the roof, while her mind was focused on keeping Bella from breaking her legs. Or arms. Or back. Or all of the above.

She planted one foot on the gutter, her other leg bent at the knee so her center of gravity was as low as possible when she caught Bella on her way down. She was probably a little too forceful, grabbing her around the waist and yanking her into the safety of—well, herself, but she was acting mostly on instinct.

Apparently she had an instinct to protect a regenerating magical being in front of unsuspecting mortals.

The wind was knocked out of Bella, and she was sure she’d connected with the ground. There was a distinct lack of pain, however. And the ground definitely did not smell that great. Or have amber eyes and wavy blonde hair.

She was pinned down to the roof by Rosalie.

Huh.

“Oh, that makes so much sense,” Ellie said to herself, still down on the ground.

Going against pretty much all Rosalie’s expectations, Bella broke out into a wide, happy smile. More than a little confused and frustrated with Bella’s ability to just shake off the near fall, she frowned. “What?”

“You like me,” Bella whispered in amazement.

Rosalie’s response was immediate. “I can still drop you,” she threatened, but there was no bite to her words. Her hand stayed steady on her waist.

“You can, but you won’t. Because you don’t hate me.” Bella sighed in relief. It was minimal effort on her part to turn the awkward hold into a hug, her arms circling Rosalie’s shoulders.

“And that’s my cue to leave,” Rosalie heard Ellie say. If she were paying more attention, she would’ve heard footsteps lead into the house, but she was otherwise occupied.

Bella held her tightly, hands grasping at her jacket, and Rosalie was not prepared. She hovered awkwardly over the other woman, allowing it to happen with a stiffness born from confusion. “What are you doing?”

“I’m hugging you.” Bella’s voice was warm in her ear, further emphasizing their closeness. “Is that, uh, okay?”

The beckoning of her scent was deafening from that close, and Rosalie finally understood what it was tempting her to do. She wanted to relax into it, to melt, to finally let go and just... be. For once, it was easier to let the tension drain from her body than to let it snap, and she lowered herself into the embrace. Gingerly, slowly, as if Bella might bolt once she realized what was happening, she pressed her nose into dark hair. It tickled her face.

“I’m gonna assume that’s a non-verbal yes, but correct me if I’m wrong.”

Rosalie liked to think she rolled her eyes. “If I didn’t want to be touched, trust me, you would know.”

“Yeah, well, I prefer not to break anything,” she muttered, referring back to the time Rosalie had threatened to break her bones. Though that felt like the distant past by now. “Not if it’s at someone else’s expense, anyway,” she added hastily.

The hand on her back patted her once, and Rosalie took it as a hint that the hug was over. She tore herself away reluctantly, until she hovered over Bella once again. “Nice save.”

“I have my moments.” Bella’s face was flushed, donning a dumb grin. “C’mon, help me up, I only have two more shingles to go,” she said, glancing up at the offending spot like they hadn’t just—what, bonded? Rosalie was unsure what exactly had happened, but the mood had shifted, and it felt right.

Wordlessly, Rosalie got up, the poster child of perfect balance as she helped Bella up and guided her to the hole.

###

On the way down, Rosalie held on to Bella’s arm or hand where possible, only releasing her when both feet were planted firmly on the ground.

“I’m not that helpless,” Bella huffed, reluctantly picking up the tools that Rosalie had retrieved from the roof.

Rosalie skipped the last few steps of the ladder, landing soundlessly besides Bella. “I beg to differ.” She shot Bella a look. She was trying to focus on getting her point across, but it was hard when her mind lingered on the residual warmth that Bella’s touch left behind.

Also, the haircut was strangely distracting. It was a wild mess that didn’t seem to have a bad angle. It was almost fascinating.

“Pain is still a deterrent, but I get dumb when—when I feel people watching,” she said, petulant and playful in the eye of what should be a hard look.

“That explains why you’re strangely competent as Death,” Rosalie admitted with a tilt of the head.

Bella narrowed her eyes, her lips pulling back into a smile. “I’m going to pretend that was a compliment and put this away.” She held up the toolbox to indicate what she was talking about, and headed for the garage.

Rosalie followed after her without a second thought, lingering only when she felt like an eager puppy. She cut through the thought with an observant, “You cut your hair.”

“I did,” Bella offered, turning to speak in Rosalie’s direction. She gestured at her hair with a vague wave. “Like, the left half got singed straight off, so it was either this or a very modern, asymmetrical haircut.”

“You were on fire,” Rosalie concluded. “In the last 12 hours, since we last saw each other.”

Bella cleared her throat, opening the garage door for her. “Well, I mean—I guess, technically, fire was involved, yeah,” she said, glancing up at the ceiling. “It was work related, I promise.”

“It’s a good thing you’re Death, because you make a terrible human,” Rosalie said on her way in, catching the tail end of Bella’s exasperated sigh.

“Yeah, well, you’d make a great one,” she huffed, like that was somehow an insult. It was reminiscent of her play-fight with Ellie, if one could even call it that.

Rosalie couldn’t help but grin. “Because humans are terrible?”

“Sure, Sartre*,” Bella replied, mirroring her grin despite the mocking undertone. She slid the toolbox on one of the lower shelves in the garage, then faced Rosalie directly. The way she rested her hands on her hips looked almost forced in its casualness. “You look good for someone who barely slept.”

Rosalie was amused to note that the less she moved, the more Bella fidgeted, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. “It’s been a while since I’ve slept.”

Bella narrowed her eyes. “Like... decades ago?”

“Give or take.” Distantly, Rosalie became aware of Ellie exiting the house and moving around something that sounded like heavy wood.

“Wow, I feel dumb now,” Bella muttered, eyes widening in what looked like realization. She took a moment longer to process the new information. “Sorry for, uh, falling asleep then. That was a weird way to bail on you.”

A heavy thunk made Rosalie glance out the dusty garage window, but whatever Ellie was doing was out of sight. All she could see was trees.

Bella followed her line of sight. “What was that?” She almost leaned against the glass to find out what the noise was, and when she did, she let out a frustrated groan.

“What?” Rosalie asked, walking over to take a peek as well. The question proved unnecessary when she spotted Ellie chopping wood in a clearing of the backyard, of all things. It was almost cliche, the way she used a tree stump as a steady surface.

Bella remained tense for a moment longer before turning around, answering, “It’s nothing.”

But her heartbeat sped up, and her breathing became shallower. If Rosalie focused, she could even taste the change in Bella’s scent. “It doesn’t seem like nothing,” she noted, glancing between Ellie and Bella. By all means, Ellie was more than equipped to swing an axe, applying proper technique and everything.

“Weird, then,” Bella conceded, breathing in deeply, holding it, and exhaling. She looked down at the ground, unseeing.

Rosalie should’ve put her brain in gear before guessing, but, truth be told, Bella was acting strange and she wanted to snap her out of it. “You’re attracted to her.”

Bella barked a laugh. “Not that weird.” She finally looked at Rosalie, and, discovering her smile, tried to give her a friendly shove. “And you know that—oof, Jesus, what are you, stone?”

Needless to say, Rosalie didn’t move, and even if she would, she wasn’t sure how much of a reaction Bella’s shove merited. “Please don’t let my brother hear you say that. If you use anything but ‘marble,’ he’ll have a conniption—and don’t change the subject. Why are you... panicking?”

Bella let out a breath, appearing slightly more relaxed, but still enduring the loudest heartbeat. “I know it’s dumb, rationally, but I’ve seen—I’m scared—I don’t want Ellie to die.”

Rosalie’s attention snapped to Ellie, who was placing the next piece of wood on the block. “She’s going to die?”

“Some day,” Bella admitted quietly, voice trembling. She swallowed. “I just don’t want it to be now. I’ve seen so many people die, in so many ways—“ For all her personality, in that moment, Bella looked small and fragile, shaking ever so slightly as she wiped her watery eyes with her sleeve. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to dump that on you.”

Rosalie might be able to withstand any shove, but she was powerless against the whispered apology. An eternity of death had taken its toll on Bella, and Rosalie finally saw her for who she was; a broken human trying desperately to finish an impossible, eternal task.

Rosalie blinked a little harder, but Bella was looking down at the ground, an unidentifiable emotion reflecting in her eyes. She stepped into Bella’s personal space, and wrapped her arms around her shoulders in a tight hug—or what she thought was tight enough, anyway. She didn’t hear any creaks or protests.

It didn’t take long for Bella to relax, leaning some of her weight into the embrace. “I didn’t think I’d like it, but it’s kinda nice to be held by stone arms,” Bella muttered, letting out a watery chuckle.

And Bella was temptingly soft.

Rosalie wondered if she should pretend to fall for Bella’s poor attempt to distract her from a painful subject. She chose to compromise. “Us vampires have no trouble remaining still for longer amounts of time.”

“Is that—I can’t tell if that’s a threat or an invitation.” Bella breathed a laugh, no longer carrying the watery undertone.

“Good,” she said, glancing down. She wasn’t big on touching, but the sight of her pale hand bunching Bella’s flannel shirt made her realize she liked hugging one dumbass.

Bella pressed her face into Rosalie’s shoulder to smother her smile.

How embarrassing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Sartre said Hell is other people
> 
> Bella telling Rosalie she’s gay, at random, via an app, should be the most painful thing you read in this entire fic.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who commented, even though I kinda stopped updating there! That was really nice. Esp cause it's hard to write this fic. It's so completely outside of my usual style and genre, yikes.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to dare121 for betaing *finger guns*

**Monday evening**

Rosalie walked towards her car, Bella in tow. The sun was starting to set and they’d both agreed that having Rosalie sit through dinner was less than ideal, even if Ellie knew neither of them were completely human. They’d spent the afternoon talking about their supernatural backgrounds, while Rosalie strayed to the truck pretty quickly, much to Bella’s amusement.

Rosalie learned that Bella could only sense impending death when she was close enough, and that she couldn’t save the individual, even if she tried (she tried), so she definitely wasn’t the Grim Reaper. She was human, so she felt pain when she was starving or freezing, though her instant regeneration didn’t allow her to die. And, no big deal, she’d raised two kids some hundreds of years ago, but staying around family was the worst kind of torture, so she purposely lost track of the bloodline.

Rosalie had gawked until Bella became fidgety and awkward, announcing that she didn’t want to talk about it, and, “Just forget it, okay?”

She most definitely wasn’t going to forget it.

With a lot of difficulty and itching with a mixture of jealousy and sympathy, Rosalie complied.

Bella was filled in on all technical aspects vampire. The strength, the speed, the near invulnerability, the gifts, and a slightly censored version of the blood lust. Needless to say, she guffawed when Rosalie explained what happened to her in sunlight, then promptly shut up at Rosalie’s pointed look.

“We have to seek out the sun some time,” Bella said, coming to a stop at the shiny Mazda, next to Rosalie. “Your whole family, but especially you. If I never see you sparkle, I will just,” she clenched her fists and jaw in an exaggerated dramatic fashion, “perish.”

Rosalie watched her as she gave the unconscious compliment, enjoying a light fluttering in her chest. It was distracting enough to make her reply lag behind, to the point that Bella looked over.

When Bella caught the look Rosalie was sending her, her heart stuttered, and she averted her eyes.

“We definitely don’t want that,” Rosalie said, trying to sound as sarcastic as possible to distract Bella from her swooning.

Bella snorted, cheeks pink as she shook her head. She cleared her throat, shaking it off. “So, uh, thanks, again. It got kinda messy back there, with the feelings and stuff. It helps to have someone around.”

The way she said it made Rosalie suspicious, like Bella had encountered people who hadn’t handled it well. ”Don’t treat me like some teenager,” she scoffed, affronted to be put in even remotely the same category. “Emotions aren’t inherently messy and the fact that you think anxiety is, means you’ve never had so much as an unconventional urge.”

Bella breathed in shakily, eyes misty with something like adoration. Rosalie was completely serious about her words, painfully aware of one of the darkest struggles she’d had to endure as a vampire, so it came as a surprise when Bella was suddenly hugging Rosalie again.

Bella’s scent was strong that close, rich with satisfaction and glee.

It only lasted a moment, short enough that Rosalie barely had time to take a hold of Bella’s waist, before Bella disengaged. The hug became a stunted starting-ending half embrace where their faces were almost nose to nose.

Rosalie inhaled Bella’s warm breath, calmly taking in the details of her eyes. She didn’t feel intimidated by the close proximity. The few hugs they shared should have been enough indication, but—

“Okay, bye,” Bella said hastily, giving Rosalie’s shoulder a friendly smack as she pulled away. She walked backwards to the house. “Drive safe!”

Rosalie blinked at the veritable dust trail Bella left behind.

Okay then.

###

Rosalie had barely parked her car before Alice appeared, not so patiently waiting for Rosalie to get out. She was bouncing on her feet, smiling wide and happy. Rosalie briefly considered taking her sweet time getting out of the car to torture her some, but decided against it. 

As soon as she opened the car door, Alice’s nose wrinkled. “You smell weird.”

Rosalie paused, momentarily insulted until she figured Bella’s otherworldly scent had gotten in her clothes, but Alice was already talking again.

“So when do we get to meet her?”

“Who?” Rosalie asked, taking a second to catch up as she stepped out of the vehicle.

“Our future best friend!” Alice exclaimed with the utmost confidence.

“Oh God,” Rosalie whispered to herself, realizing that Bella would totally be open to friendship with someone quirky like Alice.

Alice blinked prettily, obviously trying to turn up the charm with a winning smile. “I promise I’ll try to behave?”

Rosalie scoffed at the promise of trying. “It’s not you I’m worried about,” she said, remembering Bella’s meeting with Carlisle. She hadn’t exactly verified her disdain for him, but it seemed problematic enough. “It’s Carlisle. Bella might...” She was searching for the right words, when she took notice of Alice’s 1000 yard stare. “Right. Of course,” she muttered, settling to wait for Alice to clock back in. She glanced at her watch.

With a timing that was no doubt on purpose, the door to the garage opened. “Rosalie,” Edward greeted, joining them. His face was set in a serious frown.

“Edward.” Rosalie folded her arms, vaguely annoyed that neither of them could wait until she entered the house. “I’m fine, not entertaining suicide, and mind your own business,” she said in one long exasperated breath.

The worry melted from his face, instead replaced by mild amusement. “Normally I’m the one who can read minds.”

“You’re also painfully transparent when you do,” she said, glancing at Alice.

Edward nodded his head as if to say that was a fair jab. “I apologize. It’s not every day I catch stray thoughts about death.”

“Right.”

A silence befell them.

“What’s that smell?” he asked, almost conversationally. He inhaled through his nose. “You smell like...”

Rosalie couldn’t help but think very loudly that she smelled fucking fantastic and if one more person asked, she would throw them into the moon.

“Uh, nice,” Edward finished, fumbling slightly. He blinked, confused.

“Why does Bella hate Carlisle?” Alice interrupted, completely unphased by Edward’s presence.

Rosalie glared at Edward, daring him to read her mind on such a sensitive subject. For her part, she tried not to think of the answer, but it was hard when someone was trying to have a conversation with her.

Edward averted his eyes.

Alice, seeming to notice the reluctance, continued to talk, “The longer you wait, the more likely she is to throttle him.”

Edward snapped to attention, incredulous that any human could hate Carlisle to the point of hurting themselves.

Rosalie frowned. She couldn’t imagine what would enrage a kind person such as Bella. Then again, she had a hazy memory of Bella trying to shove off Carlisle when she realized he was turning her. And that was when she thought she’d been murdered. Would she really fan the flames and tell Bella the truth of her death?

“Carlisle will just have to scram!” Alice exclaimed, snapping her out of it.

Rosalie shot her wan smile for attempting to lighten the mood. “I’ll think about it,” she said. Then, deciding she’d had enough, pushed past them.

Neither followed.

 

**Monday night**

The moon was clearly visible in the night sky by the time Rosalie had found a spot. A spot to be alone for a while. She’d opted to sit high up in a tree, if only to feel hidden away. After a while of watching and listening to the nocturnal animals come to life, and making sure she hadn’t been followed, she pulled out her necklace. The moon illuminated the Charon pendant in her hand, the one she’d been carrying around since she met Bella, in case she magically forgot about her—again.

Bella, the cursed human.

The pendant no longer inspired dread, and she tucked it away for another reason than to remember her brush with Death.

She breathed in, disappointed that she had gotten used to the feel of the cool air, and gripped the thick branch she was sitting on. The clear sky allowed her to gaze at the stars, to take her mind off things.

She must have been there for quite a while before a voice called to her, “Hey!” A quick glance down revealed Emmett, looking up with an amused smile. “Care for some company?”

Rosalie shrugged. Of all the Cullens, she was least likely to send him away.

Taking it as a go ahead, he climbed up the tree with the agility of a large bear. The tree shook when he jumped from one branch to another, but he managed to keep everything intact and settled down besides Rosalie with less impact than she expected.

“Hey,” he repeated, more softly. His smile melted away as he sniffed the air.

Rosalie rolled her eyes. She knew Bella didn’t smell human, but this was getting ridiculous. Before he could ask, she sighed, “It’s Bella.”

“Oh yeah! I remember.” His smile was back like that. “Cool,” he said simply, turning to take in the view.

Rosalie raised a brow at his curious behavior. Or maybe she’d gotten so used to meddling that his non-reaction felt weird to her. “You’re not gonna ask why?”

He looked at her. “Why what?”

“Why she doesn’t smell human?” She realized a much more pertinent question. “Why she’s on me?”

Emmett shrugged, either suspiciously indifferent or not-so-suspiciously respecting her boundaries. “Do you want to tell me?”

Rosalie realized that she kinda did. Emmett was a good friend—all the Cullens were. But where the others’ approaches were more direct, Emmett wielded more tact. Usually. Sometimes. “She’s an immortal human,” she said, leaving the death curse for another time. “We hugged.”

There was a brief moment where Rosalie expected Emmett to become his boisterous self, to cheer or something, but he remained grounded. He just kept smiling, appearing happy for her. “You like her,” he concluded.

Rosalie couldn’t deny it if she tried. The fact was that she did like Bella. She couldn’t find a reason not to like her. Even the usual soulless vampire argument turned moot in the face of Bella’s immortality. A vampire might be the closest thing to family she might enjoy for longer amounts of time.

And it wasn’t just a one way street. Rosalie yearned for the humanity that Bella had in spades.

A hand appeared in her vision, palm upwards, next to her thigh. “It’ll all work out,” he said, even though he couldn’t possibly know. He seemed more his age than she’d seen in a while. It was nice.

Rosalie took his hand, allowing him to squeeze hers.

He smiled, eyes glinting with a hidden, gleeful wisdom. “Maybe not the way you want, but you’ll be fine.”

He might not be able to see the future, but his words were comforting nevertheless. She mirrored his smile with a muted version of her own, and leaned her weight into his side, resting her head on his shoulder.

 

**Wednesday at midnight**

“Could you eat our disgusting, human food? Hypothetically speaking?” Bella asked, popping a fry in her mouth. “To, I don’t know, blend in?”

Rosalie tore her eyes away from the tacky interior of the 24/7 diner. Bella chewed on her food, seated across from her in a booth. She swore the place was great for junk food, especially when you looked at other places that were open around midnight. She had also sworn she’d never gotten food poisoning there, followed by an eyebrow wriggle, because duh, Bella regenerated instantly. Rosalie had squashed the urge to shove her.

Rosalie grimaced at the thought of eating anything. “If the situation requires it.”

“That’s... gross?” she said with a frown. “Though I guess it makes sense, evolutionary-wise.”

“A wolf can eat the sheep’s grass to gain their trust,” she said, grabbing two fries from Bella’s plate, eyeing them thoughtfully. To her amusement, Bella was practically staring, waiting for her to eat them. She grinned.

“You’re such a jerk,” Bella laughed once she realized that Rosalie was just taunting her. She shook her head.

Rosalie was going to put them back, but their waitress was eyeing them strangely. Maybe even eavesdropping. Bitten in the ass by her own prank, she stared the elderly blonde woman down as she put the fries in her mouth and chewed.

The waitress hurried to avert her eyes.

“Oh God, this is terrible,” Rosalie said softly, sporting a perfect poker face.

Bella almost choked on her snicker. She quickly grabbed a few napkins from the dispenser, but instead of using them herself, she held them out to Rosalie. “I told you I was totally fine with you watching me eat.”

Rosalie took the napkins and pretended to wipe her mouth, spitting the food in it instead.

“Though to be fair, that was a joke,” Bella added.

In another effort to seem human, she pretended to sip her water. She thought she’d pulled it off pretty well by wearing a larger, less flattering sweater for a change, but no such luck. “You also said you were dealing with anxiety and needed a distraction.”

“Yeah, I was thinking of ‘keep me company with messages while I do a human thing that makes me feel better.’ You just decided to... spoil me.” Bella’s smile was genuine, but the bags under her eyes betrayed her rough night.

With sudden clarity, Rosalie remembered Bella eating fries when they bumped into each other in the hospital parking lot. It struck her as odd that Bella had been alone then and was planning to be alone now, especially because she had friends and liked company.

Then again, those friends were mortal, maybe even the cause of her anxiety.

Bella seemed to notice the wheels turning in Rosalie’s mind, eyes clear and inquisitive. “What?” she asked through a full mouth.

“Nothing.” Despite her reply, she reached over to cover Bella’s idle hand with hers, making her pause mid chew. Her consequent dumbfounded face was priceless.

Bella, regaining her wits, swallowed. She twisted her hand to hold on properly, their fingers twining. She was smiling shyly, and her face had turned pink by the time she popped another fry into her mouth.

The moment of peace was short-lived, however, when Bella became tense and squeezed her eyes shut. Worried that she was in pain, Rosalie asked, “What is it?”

Bella opened her eyes, revealing that her pupils had dilated a noticeable amount. “People keep dying tonight,” she said in a hushed tone, making sure not to attract attention. “I didn’t tell you before, but I know their lives and thoughts until they’re gone, and it’s,” she sighed, her pupils returning to normal, “exhausting.”

Surprisingly, Rosalie’s first thought was that the death curse was worse than she imagined. Her second thought concerned her own death. Bella had been, however short the time period, omniscient about everything hers. “Mine, too,” she concluded softly.

Bella blinked a few times, her brain visibly processing at 10% capacity as she tried to decipher Rosalie’s meaning. When she did, she nodded her head. “I probably knew everything while you were human, but that evaporated as soon as you, y’know, started a new phase.”

Rosalie didn’t remember the exact words that Bella had spoken during that window, but she knew they were kind. Bella wanted her to be at peace and know love, happiness. She didn’t have to care about the vain, naive woman Rosalie used to be, but she did.

Rosalie didn’t realize the lack of an immediate reply could be interpreted as anything bad until Bella slackened her hold on her hand. She was trying not to look sad, besides tired, as she braced herself for some kind of rejection.

Rosalie held on tighter.

Bella searched her eyes, and blew out a long, relieved breath at whatever she found.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, I feel like I'm handling this story with the grace of a bull in a china shop. The only thing that's driving me atm is (spite) all the funny ideas I have for the future.
> 
> Also, I'm never googling anyone ever again.
> 
> Me: *innocently googling Kirsten Stewart to find out what the fuck her eye color is*  
> Me: hah, she's younger than I  
> Me: ...  
> Me: time for a Meltdown^TM
> 
> Me, five hours later, still none the wiser: FUCk


	8. Chapter 8

**Thursday at dawn**  
****

Rosalie frowned at the deer she was stalking. Not only did it ignore the sound she just made when she stood on crispy, dry leaves by accident, but it kept trudging towards the edge of civilization, where it sought out two other deer. All of them were in equal states of calm loitering, raising all kinds or red flags. She’d never encountered wildlife that calm in the proximity of humans.

She inhaled, suspecting human intervention of some kind, but instead of medication or poison, she found the scent of fresh blood. It was like a punch in the gut, the sudden intensity of sweet life blood—much richer and sweeter than she was used to.

It should’ve scared her, how good it smelled, but the beast inside had already snapped to attention. It had been lurking at the surface before, which was why Rosalie decided to go hunting, and now that it smelled food...

It overrode any suspicion about human interference, overrode any common sense, and, in a fit of blood lust, jumped the closest deer.

She fed and fed and fed, until she could no longer feel a heart beat. She released the deer, letting it fall with a dull thump, and the beast inside settled, calm and sated.

She grimaced at the uncharacteristic loss of control, and wiped at the warm liquid dripping from her chin. It was at this moment that she noticed the other two deer were still there, staring her down with large, unblinking eyes.

Unease slithered up her spine.

The deer stepped aside simultaneously, revealing a body. It was the source of the blood, and Rosalie was mercifully sober enough to notice the scent beneath it all.

It was Bella.

Bella was the lifeless body.

The vague sense of unease exploded into full-blown panic. She wasn’t completely in control of herself when she rushed over, kneeling over the body to confirm her suspicions.

Bella lay prone, peaceful and much paler than Rosalie had ever wanted to see her. The cause of her death was sticking from her chest. She’d been stabbed through the heart with a hunting knife.

The reality of the situation was punctuated by deafening silence, the absence a familiar heartbeat.

It took a lot for Rosalie to remember that Bella couldn’t die. The thought was buried deeper than she expected, underneath a thin, but sturdy layer of fear. She clamped onto the thought, finding her strength, and gathered Bella in her lap.

Her jaw clenched at the realization that someone did this to Bella, but she ignored the thoughts of vengeance for a more appropriate moment. She took out the knife, and, of course, it was covered in blood.

Sweet life blood.

The beast whispered.

Disgusted and infuriated with her nature, Rosalie threw the knife away. Hell would freeze over before she fed from someone she loved.

The open wound didn’t bleed, but also didn’t close up. Bella still looked like an empty husk, and Rosalie felt it more profoundly than she wanted. Her death seeped into her skin, chilled her bones, but instead of despair, it spread calm.

Rosalie wanted to throw it off and rage, to feel anything but the cool calm grip of death, when the deer moved, distracting her. The two deer were still watching, and the third joined them, its neck covered in blood and missing tufts of fur where Rosalie attacked.

“Why are you covered in blood?”

Rosalie looked down into Bella’s eyes, very much filled with life. Her relief was so great, she didn’t realize she was crushing Bella’s ribs in the hug she sprung on her.

“Air,” Bella wheezed, patting Rosalie on her shoulder. “I need air.”

Rosalie loosened her hold some. She felt Bella’s skin become warmer where they were touching, and she didn’t let go until Bella’s heartbeat thumped steadily in her ears. She glared down at her. “What the _fuck_ , Bella?”

Bella looked surprisingly lucid for having been resurrected, eyes clear and cheeks pink. She took everything in stride, relaxing on the ground, head in Rosalie’s lap. “Okay, first of all, I didn’t mean for you to find me like this—“

“How does that make it better?” Rosalie nearly yelled.

“Second of all,” Bella continued, not unkindly, ignoring Rosalie’s completely appropriate outrage. “I have to die to summon my mother.”

Rosalie glanced up at the deer, who were still there, being creepy and quiet. “Your mother?”

Bella followed her line of sight. “Yeah. She’s, um, Life, I guess? She doesn’t exactly speak with words anymore, but that about covers it.”

“Of course,” Rosalie muttered, because of course Bella’s birth mother needed to be summoned with a blood sacrifice.

Bella’s cavalier attitude reminded her of their simple, every day interactions, and the familiarity calmed her down. She was still pissed, however, and felt the distinct need to punch Bella in the mouth. Softly. With her own mouth.

She didn’t.

She helped Bella sit up. And either she was more distraught than she thought or Bella was more affected than she let on, but Rosalie ended up holding most of Bella’s weight, her back pressed to her front.

The three deer were there, waiting, and Rosalie had the unsettling feeling they weren’t the only ones watching.

Bella gestured vaguely at the animals. “So she’s a disembodied entity, right? Things are gonna get funky when she communicates, just a heads up.”

Rosalie was about to ask what the hell that meant, when things got a little fuzzy around the edges and all sound fell away. No words were spoken, but Rosalie somehow knew that Bella would have to become just like her mother, something that tasted suspiciously like Life and Death and everything in between.

And Bella was miserable. She was blinded by a pitch black blanket of death and loss, but despite all that, she did not want to become like her mother.

New information poured in. An option that was never revealed before. Everything supernatural about Bella could be stripped away. She could become human.

Rosalie’s hands clenched in Bella’s shirt, and she knew her fear was being broadcasted. Bella would be dead within a week, was what she couldn’t help but think. No one that clumsy could survive mortality.

The three deer blinked simultaneously.

A raven cawed on a branch nearby.

Rosalie was scared to listen, but the woods reverberated with Bella’s decision.

She had waited so long, she could wait a little longer.

Rosalie felt a weight fall from her shoulders, and she finally dared to look at Bella’s profile. None of the depth she just felt was reflected in her face.

The deer scattered, the haze lifted.

Bella turned to make eye contact. “Are you okay?”

Rosalie’s mouth fell open. Not a few seconds ago, Bella had chosen the curse over humanity because Rosalie was worried. Like it was nothing. And she dared to ask if she were okay?

The urge to punch Bella in the mouth resurfaced, and that time, she didn’t resist. Instead of giving her a piece of her mind, she planned to shut her up in the most pleasant of ways.

Until Bella smacked a hand over her mouth.

Rosalie’s eyebrows raised, too confused about the action to feel embarrassed.

“I really like you,” Bella said, unable to contain her dopey smile. “But not enough to eat blood.”

Rosalie realized she was still covered in blood—most of all her mouth. She rolled her eyes in amusement, and took a consolation prize in the form of kissing the inside of Bella’s hand.

Bella’s soul left through her mouth in one long exhale. “Fuck it,” she said, suddenly, reaching up to kiss the back of her own hand.

Rosalie didn’t realize she had the impression that first kisses were supposed to be serious business until she laughed into the not-kiss. She blamed the ridiculous situation and pent up nerves. It was ridiculous, but she loved it. She loved that Bella was there, safe, and that she could feel the air she exhaled because of her own laugh.

The scent of pine and wet grass was strong, the moment sweet. Time seemed to slow down. The sun was warm against her skin. She felt a heartbeat against her lips, the echo of a breath in her lungs. However briefly, it felt like being alive.

Rosalie shouldn’t, but she recognized every single detail. The scents and feelings were reminiscent of Bella’s Death Magic that had calmed her down in the beginning. It was what she felt when she died.

She backed away to look Bella in the eye, only to catch a glimpse of her pale forearms in the sunlight. She almost expected not to glitter, but she did, and Bella was none to subtle about it either, staring as she was. Her clear, green eyes shone with barely concealed interest.

Feeling a bit self conscious in between the blood and Bella’s fascination, she gave her a (relatively gentle) shove. “Get up before I smear deer blood all over you.”

Bella, snapping out of it, glanced down at her gross hand. “Worth it,” she chuckled, wiping her hand on her already bloodied shirt.

###

Bella was walking home, stomach twisting with longing. Ever since Rosalie showed emotional intelligence, she had been having trouble keeping it together. In the ridiculous amount of time she’d been alive, beauty had lost its edge and given way to invisible virtues, and by God, if Rosalie didn’t turn out to be exactly her type.

And they almost kissed! Bella was screaming at herself for not accepting Rosalie’s kiss, gross deer blood or not. It wasn’t like she could contract a disease or anything—

Bella pressed her lips together, turning around and walking backwards for a few steps to see if maybe Rosalie was done cleaning up and came to find her. It was a vain hope, she thought. Rosalie seemed classy and patient, not at all like herself.

The Williams’ residence was close enough that she could see it through the trees. With a few deep breaths, she tried to calm down her nervous gay energy. With her luck, Ellie or Dina would be able to sniff it out like a couple of gay hounds. Not that that was a bad thing, but she needed a minute to regroup.

It didn’t take long to reach the house. She was about to open the back door, but a voice stopped her.

“Sorry it took so long,” Rosalie said, dusting off her shirt with her hands as she made her way over. She had ditched her blood stained clothes and donned a simple black blouse and some jeans, but it still managed to make Bella swallow her tongue.

She came to a stop barely a foot away from Bella.

Bella, whose gay heart was beating.

Whose gay brain was mesmerized by Rosalie’s mere presence.

Rosalie smelled great, as usual, and... vaguely of alcohol?

Rosalie seemed to pick up on the unconscious quirk of her eyebrow, because, unprompted, she added, “I couldn’t find any mouthwash, so I had to use vodka.”

Bella thought she caught Rosalie’s eyes flitting down to her lips, but she couldn’t be sure if that was her own desire clouding her judgement. “You have alcohol but not mouthwash—y’know what, I don’t care. I would like to kiss you now.”

Rosalie honest-to-God smiled, and wow, Bella was so gay. The distance between them evaporated until their lips were separated by a hair's width.

The back door was thrown open with a loud smack, Ellie all but screaming for them to, “Wait!!”

Something died a little inside of Bella.

She whipped her head towards Ellie. “What!”

“Do not kiss your great great great... great...? Whatever. Do not kiss your family!” Ellie huffed. She was holding an album.

“Don’t you have a job?” Bella answered, because honestly, it felt like a joke. A really bad one. She was stiff with pent up frustration. “Were you just waiting behind the door?”

“Fair point. And yes, I was, but only because I found out yesterday and I couldn’t find you this morning.” Ellie was completely unabashed as she held up the album and showed its contents. There were two papers folded into the album; a copy of an old, handwritten family tree on yellowed paper, and a typed up, modern continuation.

Rosalie was quiet as she watched the scene unfold, curious.

Bella gritted her teeth as she whipped about to take a look. True enough, she found her name at the top. Her heart softened as she went down the tree, recognizing less and less names as she went down. She paused when she caught a glimpse of Charlie Swan, but moved on to where Ellie was pointing at a far corner of the tree. It clearly said Rosalie Hale, deceased in 1933. “Do these names match?” she asked Rosalie, feeling a slither of dread at the correct year.

Rosalie, stunned, just nodded.

Bella slammed the book closed, and threw it at Ellie. She scrambled to catch it. “Get fucked,” Bella hissed, storming off into the house. “Better yet,” she called, turning around as she walked backwards into the house, “don’t get fucked at all.”

Rosalie and Ellie looked at each other. “Okay, I did not expect _that_ ,” Ellie said dryly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> APRIL FOOLS.
> 
> Every once in a while I'll update around April 1st and I can't help myself. It's tradition. A hilarious tradition, to me. A possibly scarring one to the readers. 
> 
> To be clear: Ellie DOES have a job and Rosalie and Bella are NOT related. [spoiler] In fact, Bella did not bear any children at all. [/spoiler] Basically, everything but Ellie's interference is true.


	9. the REAL chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The actual chapter 8, unbetaed because my beta has a life. It starts the same, but I marked where the "actual scene" starts.
> 
> I hope y'all like fluff~

**Thursday at dawn** ****  
Rosalie frowned at the deer she was stalking. Not only did it ignore the sound she just made when she stood on crispy, dry leaves by accident, but it kept trudging towards the edge of civilization, where it sought out two other deer. All of them were in equal states of calm loitering, raising all kinds or red flags. She’d never encountered wildlife that calm in the proximity of humans.   
  
She inhaled, suspecting human intervention of some kind, but instead of medication or poison, she found the scent of fresh blood. It was like a punch in the gut, the sudden intensity of sweet life blood—much richer and sweeter than she was used to.    
  
It should’ve scared her, how good it smelled, but the beast inside had already snapped to attention. It had been lurking at the surface before, which was why Rosalie decided to go hunting, and now that it smelled food...   
  
It overrode any suspicion about human interference, overrode any common sense, and, in a fit of blood lust, jumped the closest deer.   
  
She fed and fed and fed, until she could no longer feel a heartbeat. She released the deer, letting it fall with a dull thump, and the beast inside settled, calm and sated.   
  
She grimaced at the uncharacteristic loss of control, and wiped at the warm liquid dripping from her chin. It was at this moment that she noticed the other two deer were still there, staring her down with large, unblinking eyes.   
  
Unease slithered up her spine.   
  
The deer stepped aside simultaneously, revealing a body. It was the source of the blood, and Rosalie was mercifully sober enough to notice the scent beneath it all.    
  
It was Bella.    
  
Bella was the lifeless body.   
  
The vague sense of unease exploded into full-blown panic. She wasn’t completely in control of herself when she rushed over, kneeling over the body to confirm her suspicions.    
  
Bella lay prone, peaceful and much paler than Rosalie had ever wanted to see her. The cause of her death was sticking from her chest. She’d been stabbed through the heart with a hunting knife.   
  
The reality of the situation was punctuated by deafening silence, the absence a familiar heartbeat.   
  
It took a lot for Rosalie to remember that Bella couldn’t die. The thought was buried deeper than she expected, underneath a thin, but sturdy layer of fear. She clamped onto the thought, finding her strength, and gathered Bella in her lap.   
  
Her jaw clenched at the realization that someone did this to Bella, but she ignored the thoughts of vengeance for a more appropriate moment. She took out the knife, and, of course, it was covered in blood.   
  
Sweet life blood.   
  
The beast whispered.   
  
Disgusted and infuriated with her nature, Rosalie threw the knife away. Hell would freeze over before she fed from someone she loved.    
  
The open wound didn’t bleed, but also didn’t close up. Bella still looked like an empty husk, and Rosalie felt it more profoundly than she wanted. Her death seeped into her skin, chilled her bones, but instead of despair, it spread calm.   
  
Rosalie wanted to throw it off and rage, to feel anything but the cool calm grip of death, when the deer moved, distracting her. The two deer were still watching, and the third joined them, its neck covered in blood and missing tufts of fur where Rosalie attacked.   
  
“Why are you covered in blood?”   
  
Rosalie looked down into Bella’s eyes, very much filled with life. Her relief was so great, she didn’t realize she was crushing Bella’s ribs in the hug she sprung on her.   
  
“Air,” Bella wheezed, patting Rosalie on her shoulder. “I need air.”   
  
Rosalie loosened her hold some. She felt Bella’s skin become warmer where they were touching, and she didn’t let go until Bella’s heartbeat thumped steadily in her ears. She glared down at her. “What the _fuck_ , Bella?”   
  
Bella looked surprisingly lucid for having been resurrected, eyes clear and cheeks pink. She took everything in stride, relaxing on the ground, head in Rosalie’s lap. “Okay, first of all, I didn’t mean for you to find me like this—“   
  
“How does that make it better?” Rosalie nearly yelled.   
  
“Second of all,” Bella continued, not unkindly, ignoring Rosalie’s completely appropriate outrage. “I have to die to summon my mother.”   
  
Rosalie glanced up at the deer, who were still there, being creepy and quiet. “Your mother?”   
  
Bella followed her line of sight. “Yeah. She’s, um, Life, I guess? She doesn’t exactly speak with words anymore, but that about covers it.”   
  
“Of course,” Rosalie muttered, because of course Bella’s birth mother needed to be summoned with a blood sacrifice.    
  
Bella’s cavalier attitude reminded her of their simple, every day interactions, and the familiarity calmed her down. She was still pissed, however, and felt the distinct need to punch Bella in the mouth. Softly. With her  _ own  _ mouth.   
  
She didn’t.   
  
She helped Bella sit up. And either she was more distraught than she thought or Bella was more affected than she let on, but Rosalie ended up holding most of Bella’s weight, her back pressed to her front.   
  
The three deer were there, waiting, and Rosalie had the unsettling feeling they weren’t the only ones watching.   
  
Bella gestured vaguely at the animals. “So she’s a disembodied entity, right? Things are gonna get funky when she communicates, just a heads up.”   
  
Rosalie was about to ask what the hell that meant, when things got a little fuzzy around the edges and all sound fell away. No words were spoken, but Rosalie somehow knew that Bella would have to become just like her mother, something that tasted suspiciously like Life and Death and everything in between.   
  
And Bella was miserable. She was blinded by a pitch black blanket of death and loss, but despite all that, she did not want to become like her mother.   
  
New information poured in. An option that was never revealed before. Everything supernatural about Bella could be stripped away. She could become human.   
  
Rosalie’s hands clenched in Bella’s shirt, and she knew her fear was being broadcasted. Bella would be dead within a week, was what she couldn’t help but think. No one that clumsy could survive mortality.   
  
The three deer blinked simultaneously.   
  
A raven cawed on a branch nearby.   
  
Rosalie was scared to listen, but the woods reverberated with Bella’s decision.   
  
She had waited so long, she could wait a little longer.   
  
Rosalie felt a weight fall from her shoulders, and she finally dared to look at Bella’s profile. None of the depth she just felt was reflected in her face.   
  
The deer scattered, the haze lifted.   
  
Bella turned to make eye contact. “Are you okay?”   
  
Rosalie’s mouth fell open. Not a few seconds ago, Bella had chosen the curse over humanity because Rosalie was worried. Like it was nothing. And she dared to ask if she were okay?    
  
The urge to punch Bella in the mouth resurfaced, and that time, she didn’t resist. Instead of giving her a piece of her mind, she planned to shut her up in the most pleasant of ways.    
  
Until Bella smacked a hand over her mouth.   
  
Rosalie’s eyebrows raised, too confused about the action to feel embarrassed.   
  
“I really like you,” Bella said, unable to contain her dopey smile. “But not enough to eat blood.”   
  
Rosalie realized she was still covered in blood—most of all her mouth. She rolled her eyes in amusement, and took a consolation prize in the form of kissing the inside of Bella’s hand.   
  
Bella’s soul left through her mouth in one long exhale. “Fuck it,” she said, suddenly, reaching up to kiss the back of her own hand.   
  
Rosalie didn’t realize she had the impression that first kisses were supposed to be serious business until she laughed into the not-kiss. She blamed the ridiculous situation and pent up nerves. It was ridiculous, but she loved it. She loved that Bella was there, safe, and that she could feel the air she exhaled because of her own laugh.   
  
The scent of pine and wet grass was strong, the moment sweet. Time seemed to slow down. The sun was warm against her skin. She felt a heartbeat against her lips, the echo of a breath in her lungs. However briefly, it felt like being alive.   
  
Rosalie shouldn’t, but she recognized every single detail. The scents and feelings were reminiscent of Bella’s Death Magic that had calmed her down in the beginning. It was what she felt when she died.   
  
She backed away to look Bella in the eye, only to catch a glimpse of her pale forearms in the sunlight. She almost expected not to glitter, but she did, and Bella was none to subtle about it either, staring as she was. Her clear, green eyes shone with barely concealed interest.   
  
Feeling a bit self conscious in between the blood and Bella’s fascination, she gave her a (relatively gentle) shove. “Get up before I smear deer blood all over you.”   
  
Bella, snapping out of it, glanced down at her gross hand. “Worth it,” she chuckled, wiping her hand on her already bloodied shirt.

###

Bella was walking home, stomach twisting with longing. Ever since Rosalie showed emotional intelligence, she had been having trouble keeping it together. In the ridiculous amount of time she’d been alive, beauty had lost its edge and given way to invisible virtues, and by God, if Rosalie didn’t turn out to be exactly her type.   
  
And they almost kissed! Bella was screaming at herself for not accepting Rosalie’s kiss, gross deer blood or not. It wasn’t like she could contract a disease or anything.   
  
Bella pressed her lips together, turning around and walking backwards for a few steps to see if maybe Rosalie was done cleaning up and came to find her. It was a vain hope, she thought. Rosalie seemed classy and patient, not at all like herself.   
  
The Williams’ residence became close enough that she could see it through the trees. With a few deep breaths, she tried to calm down her nervous gay energy. With her luck, Ellie or Dina would be home for some reason and able to sniff it out like a couple of gay hounds. Not that that was a bad thing, but she needed a minute to regroup.   
  
It didn’t take long to reach the house. She was about to open the back door, but a voice stopped her.   
  
“Sorry it took so long,” Rosalie said, dusting off her shirt with her hands as she made her way over. She had ditched her blood stained clothes and donned a simple black blouse and some jeans, but it still managed to make Bella swallow her tongue.    
  
She came to a stop barely a foot away from Bella.   
  
Bella, whose gay heart was beating.   
  
Whose gay brain was mesmerized by Rosalie’s mere presence.   
  
Rosalie smelled great, as usual, and... vaguely of alcohol?   
  
Rosalie seemed to pick up on the unconscious quirk of her eyebrow, because, unprompted, she added, “I couldn’t find any mouthwash, so I had to use vodka.”   
  
Bella thought she caught Rosalie’s eyes flitting down to her lips, but she couldn’t be sure if that was her own desire clouding her judgement. “You have alcohol but not mouthwash—y’know what, I don’t care. I would like to kiss you now.”   
  
Rosalie honest-to-God smiled, and wow, Bella was so gay. They swayed together, the distance between them decreasing until there was none left.

**#Actual scene, where Ellie has a job and no one is related#**

The kiss was tentative, both parties trying to adjust to kissing a different kind of human. And Bella found it fascinating. Sure, Rosalie was hard as stone, but her movements were fluid and accommodating. It was like kissing pliant marble.   
  
Bella smiled at the thought.   
  
Rosalie backed away enough to talk, to catch a glimpse of what Bella was feeling. “What?”   
  
Bella’s smile grew wide and stupid for no reason. “Nothing,” she replied with a shake of the head. “I’m just enjoying myself.”   
  
Rosalie’s golden eyes narrowed, but, after a beat, decided that Bella was telling the truth and lost her edge. She gave their surroundings a once-over before looking straight at Bella, and, as far as Bella was concerned, straight into her soul. “Let’s go inside,” she said, in a way that suggested maybe she was implying something.   
  
Bella’s heart beat in her throat as she watched Rosalie go inside.   
  
She was going to be the death of her.

###

“This is a little anticlimactic,” Bella muttered, biting into her peanut butter sandwich.   
  
Soon after they’d entered the house, Bella had gone up to her room and changed, but on her way down, her stomach had growled. Regrettably, she hadn’t eaten since her midnight snack. Rosalie shot her a worried look and insisted she eat, like Bella would otherwise perish immediately. Bella lowkey wondered if Rosalie knew hunger was a mild inconvenience for someone in her current position, but she didn’t have the heart to resist and made herself a sandwich as Rosalie idled around the house within her field of vision.   
  
Rosalie tilted her head to show she was listening, not tearing her eyes away from the photographs on the wall. Some were older, of younger versions of Ellie and Dina and what looked like family, but the most recent one was with Bella. In the picture, Bella was squeezed in between Ellie and Dina, looking vaguely uncomfortable with a hand covering half of her face, but laughing along just as obnoxiously as the married pair. “What is?”   
  
“This.” Bella took her plate and walked over to the couch, sitting down sideways as she allowed Rosalie to roam free by herself.   
  
Rosalie glanced over, eyebrows knitted in confusion, watching Bella scarf down the sandwich. “What, because you literally just died and revealed your mother is a god?”   
  
Bella stopped chewing, freezing rather comically. “Uh-huh,” she muttered, mentally brushing her actual thoughts of kissing under the metaphorical rug.    
  
God, when had she become so superficial?   
  
Rosalie appeared at her side, making to sit down beside Bella and maneuvering her legs to rest across her lap. Bella didn’t even realize she had complied with her every nonverbal cue until they were both comfortably seated, Bella more on Rosalie than vice versa.   
  
Looking into Rosalie’s eyes, unassuming and there, Bella suddenly remembered why she was so distracted by mundane romance like some kind of pleb.   
  
Rosalie’s thoughts, however, were on a different subject. “How are you cursed with death when your mother is Life?” she asked, frowning. “Did you do something wrong?”   
  
“Uh.” Bella blinked, kicking aside her romantic feelings and adjusting to the topic. “No?” she ended up guessing, trying to remember the relevant events. Though the memories were hazy at best, in her heart she knew she had never done anything to merit the curse—she wasn’t even sure it was a curse. “No, I haven’t,” she corrected. “I’m... not sure what happened.”   
  
Bella tried to remember how it started, but it all happened so far back, and so many things had happened since then, that she only knew for certain that she wanted the people she loved not to suffer through their inevitable death.   
  
Rosalie looked down at her hands; one on Bella’s ankle and the other just above her knee. “Was your mother the same?”   
  
Bella blew out a breath. That was even further back. She barely remembered her mother’s face, let alone what she could and couldn’t do. She felt like the transition into an disembodied entity was a gradual, untainted event, however. “No?” she said eventually, looking up to find Rosalie peering at her curiously. She took another bite from her sandwich.   
  
Rosalie looked like she was trying not to smile. “How long was this ago?”   
  
Unable to produce an answer, Bella asked right back, “What are you getting at?”   
  
“Maybe you forgot you’re the same as your mother when she was still restricted to human form.”   
  
Bella thought that sounded pretty great, and wanted to hear more of Rosalie’s theory, if only to entertain the fantasy. “How would I forget _that_?”   
  
“Do you remember?”   
  
Bella narrowed her eyes at a smug Rosalie. “No.”   
  
“So maybe you’re not restricted to death,” she concluded.   
  
Bella mulled it over, unable to find the resistance of a lie or the sweetness of wishful thinking. “That’d be nice,” she muttered, popping the last of her sandwich into her mouth.    
  
“Something to think about, then,” Rosalie said, absentmindedly rubbing a cool finger across her bare ankle.    
  
Chewing gave Bella the time to really notice the air of ease around Rosalie, to realize that Rosalie was taking it all really well. If Rosalie weren’t supernatural herself, and thus used to weird things, Bella would be suspicious. “Said someone who is surprisingly okay with everything.”   
  
Rosalie scoffed. “Everything after ‘I was there when you died violently’ feels like just another explanation.”   
  
Bella couldn’t help but smile. Rosalie had been sharp where she was now soft, understandably wary until she had all the information. She felt lucky that Rosalie ended up liking her. “I guess so.” She leaned forwards, bringing herself closer, while still far enough that they could comfortably look at each other. “Hey Rose?”   
  
Bella hadn’t even done or said anything, but Rosalie’s eyes were already softening. “Yeah?”   
  
“Can we kiss again?” she asked, feeling what was no doubt a dumb smile pulling at her lips.   
  
“Physically, we are able to—“   
  
“Oh come ON,” Bella groaned, even as Rosalie started laughing at her exasperation. “I’ve heard that so many times—I don’t even want to kiss you anymore.” With those words, she flopped back on the couch, as far away as she could stand to be at that moment.   
  
Still chuckling, Rosalie shifted to follow her movements, ending up hovering over Bella. Her hair fell in waves around them, tickling the side of Bella’s face. “Is that so?” she asked, unknowingly dazzling Bella with a smile. And her voice. And her heavenly scent. And her proximity.   
  
Again.   
  
The part of Bella that ensured she had the mental capacity to be a smartass died out, sandwiched between the couch and Rosalie as she was. “No,” she answered softly.   
  
Rosalie arched a brow. “That’s what I thought,” she quipped, mercifully bringing their lips together once again.   
  
It was a while yet before they remembered there was a world around them.


	10. Chapter 9

Rosalie’s world shrunk until all she heard was the bass of Bella’s heartbeat. It reverberated in her bones, thundering against her ear to the steady backdrop of her stormy breaths. Blood crashed through her veins, ebbing and flowing to the drumming noise that just kept getting louder and louder. The air was thick with her warm, sweet scent, drowning out the rest of the world.

“Rosalie?” Bella whispered, but might as well have yelled.

Rosalie flinched, snapping out of her focus. Her ears rang as she adjusted to the volume.

Warm fingers threaded through her hair and brushed against the shell of her ear. “I thought vampires couldn’t sleep?”

“I wasn’t,” Rosalie answered, blinking against the light in the room as she opened her eyes. She lifted her head from Bella’s chest and looked up at her. “What is it? Am I crushing you?”

“I’m good,” Bella answered, her fingers slipping from Rosalie’s hair to her jaw. A grin spread across her lips. “I don’t need to breathe anyway."

Rosalie narrowed her eyes. “Your sense of self preservation never ceases to amaze me,” she said, moving off Bella and sitting on the couch. Bella followed her lead.

“At least I never told you to bite me,” Bella quipped, grinning.

Rosalie side-eyed her. Bella was lowkey vibrating with mirth. “You’re dying to, huh?”

“So bad!” Bella gasped dramatically, flopping against Rosalie’s shoulder. She made herself comfortable against her side. “Have you ever bitten a person?”

“No.”

“That’s badass,” Bella whispered to herself, borderline in awe. “Anyway, I actually woke you up because I was wondering about the Death Trap?”

Rosalie watched Bella’s hand inch closer to her own, and she almost rolled her eyes at the hesitance. She hadn’t been shy about kissing her—no, wait, she actually had been, asking for permission and everything.

“It’s pretty much done, except for an engine and transmission overhaul, maybe,” she said, slipping her hand into Bella’s. “And I wasn’t sleeping.”

Bella squeezed her hand, exhaling a little easier than before. “Then what were you doing?” she asked, innocently enough.

Rosalie trusted Bella implicitly, but she wasn’t going to admit to disappearing in her heartbeat. That seemed too intimate to share so soon. Perhaps even creepy. She should probably make Bella aware of what she was doing next time. “Sleeping,” she answered after a beat.

Bella breathed a laugh. “Okay, sure.”

“Do you want me to do a complete overhaul?” Rosalie asked, changing the subject.

Bella gave her a mystified look. “Dude, what can’t you do?”

“Bring peace to the dying, manipulate the senses of the living, come back from the dead—“

“Okay, okay, I get the point,” Bella laughed, sitting up to look at Rosalie properly. “Can we take the truck for a test drive?”

Rosalie brightened at the thought. “Yeah, just give me five minutes.”

###

“What are you frowning about, she runs great!” Bella said, smiling from ear to ear. Copious amounts of trees and green scenery passed them by as she drove her truck. She’d taken off in a random direction and had been driving around for a good ten minutes, commenting on every positive change she noticed. “The screeching is gone, and pulling up is so much smoother.”

Rosalie’s lips ticked up in a smile, unable to stop the pride from showing. “I forget sometimes that you can’t hear what I hear.”

Bella glanced down at the dashboard like she could somehow see what Rosalie was talking about. Her brow furrowed. “Why, what is it?”

“Two of the engine’s cylinders aren’t firing properly, and shifting gears should not make that sound.” She held up a finger as Bella shifted gears, indicating the sounds, but Bella only heard the rumbling of the engine.

“It’s killing you that I didn’t immediately agree to an overhaul, isn’t it?” Bella noted, grinning.

Rosalie didn’t even care that she was completely right. She’d gotten that far. She wanted to finish the task now. “It could significantly extend the truck’s life.”

Bella shuddered. “Oof, talk longevity to me, baby,” she purred, managing to sound serious for an entire second before her grin ruined it.

Rosalie knew Bella was being ridiculous, but by God, if she didn’t want to play along and hear more of Bella being weirdly happy about it. She leaned a little closer towards her, lowering her voice to a seductive whisper, “You could drive around in this thing for another decade.”

The intensity of Bella’s smile went down a notch as the words hit home, her entire being relaxing ever so slightly.

Of course, Rosalie noticed. “Really?” she asked, wondering if Bella was just playing it up on a goof.

“Yes, really!” Bella laughed. “My secret kink is keeping things around for longer than I should.”

Rosalie backed away and straightened up in her seat, amused but meaning it when she said, “And you made it weird.”

Bella didn’t even flinch, seeming too happy to care about her poor choice of words. “So about the overhaul. You can’t do that at home, right?”

“Not yours, no. It will have to be done—“

“At your place? Where all the other vampires are?” Bella asked, lighting up in excitement.

Rosalie suppressed a laugh. “Yes, there. Though maybe in light of your recent revelation, we shouldn’t go.”

“Oh, come on,” Bella whined playfully. “I was obviously kidding. I don’t like _all_ vampires just because they keep well for longer.”

“But it does help,” Rosalie found herself saying, unwittingly slipping into a subject that bothered her more than she thought. A single terrifying thought crossed her mind: that Bella was only with her because she was immortal.

Bella’s eyebrows raised in surprise, and she checked to see if Rosalie was as serious as she sounded. “I guess it does make you less terrifying,” she concluded. “But that’s not why I’m hanging out with you, if that’s what’s bothering you.”

Rosalie needed a second to process that someone thought she was less terrifying _because_  she was a vampire. “Then why?”

Bella exhaled, smiling at whatever thoughts were passing through her head. “Your wit, for one,” she produced easily. “Your strength. But most of all, your heart. You hide it well, but you care. Maybe more than you’d like.” She considered her words for a beat, her fingers tapping against the wheel. “I don’t know, you seem like a quality person and I’m usually right about these kinds of things.”

Rosalie was, without a doubt, staring at Bella. At her young features, wild haircut, and modern clothes. It was easy to forget she was so old when she acted like she was young so convincingly. “Take the next exit.”

Bella did as she was told, stealing a glance at the passenger’s seat. “Are you okay?”

Rosalie huffed, wanting to be annoyed, but finding that she wasn’t. “Why do you keep asking that?”

“Because ‘did I ease your doubts’ sounds super sketchy,” Bella said with a chuckle. “And I want you to be okay.”

“Pull over.”

Bella dropped her smile like a hot potato. “What? Why?”

“Because I don’t want to crash the car when I kiss you,” she answered plainly, airily.

The car was pulled over promptly.

###

Bella was surprisingly calm for someone who admitted to being excited about meeting Rosalie’s family. Or, as Rosalie saw it, throwing her to the lions. Not because the Cullens would attack or murder her, but because they could be intense.

Alice was already waiting for them near the front door, shooting off to meet them as soon as she deemed it appropriate. Which was when they were about ten feet removed from the house.

Bella took the sudden hug like a champ, laughing like a squeeze too tight wouldn’t kill her. “Whoa, okay. Hi... uh.”

“Alice!” she chirped, holding on to Bella’s shoulders as she backed away to an arm’s distance. She smiled brightly. “We’re going to be such good friends, Bella.”

Bella glanced at Rosalie, who was watching them with such an intensity, she might as well be standing guard. “Okay, sweet? I guess.”

Alice followed her line of sight, catching Rosalie’s eyes. “Oh, don’t give me that look. I made sure Carlisle and Jasper took a hike,” she said proudly, finally letting go of Bella.

“Jasper?” Rosalie echoed, frowning in confusion. “I thought he was doing fine?”

“He is, but Bella smells better than most humans.”

A shiteating grin slipped onto Bella’s face as she gave Rosalie a pointed look. “You don’t say...”

Rosalie rolled her eyes skywards.

“I know you can calm him down,” Alice told Bella. “And that Rosalie would throw him before he touched you, but you know what they say about first impressions!”

When no one answered and with Alice’s expectant eyes on her, Bella answered, a little flustered, “Uh, you can only have one?”

“Yes, exactly!” Alice cheered, grabbing hold of Bella’s arm and pulling her along inside. “Now come meet the others! Everyone is dying to meet you.”

“Everyone?” Bella repeated, trying to keep up. “Wait, how do you know all that?”

Rosalie grinned as she followed them up into the house, feeling vindicated in her assumption that Bella meeting the Cullens would be chaos.

For Bella, anyway.

Once inside, Bella was taken aback at the sight of the three vampires standing around to greet her. Though on second thought, she should have expected vampires to hear her coming a mile away. She was introduced, Alice holding her close at her left, and Rosalie standing at her right. There was a bit of irony in that, not being introduced by the vampire she knew best.

“You know Emmett,” Alice said, gesturing towards the man.

“Hi Bella,” Emmett greeted her with a nod and a grin.

Bella returned the smile. “Bearfriend.”

“And these lovely people are Esmee and Edward,” Alice continued.

Esmee smiled, and Bella found herself thinking that she was just as warm as Alice, albeit much calmer. “It’s nice to meet you, Bella.”

They all stood so perfectly in what looked like their allocated positions, that Bella was almost afraid to move and shake hands. So she remained at Alice and Rosalie’s side. “Likewise.”

Edward finally spoke up, eyes dark and penetrating. It sent Bella on edge. “You’re... strange. Disjointed.”

Bella opened her mouth for a witty reply, but Edward’s greeting was so bizarre, she couldn’t find any words. Instead, she looked to Rosalie for help.

Rosalie was busy glaring at her brother, but she noticed Bella’s movements nevertheless. “He can read minds.” Then, much softer and colder, “Even when he knows he shouldn’t.”

“Oh! That’s... not creepy at all.” It was an unsettling thought, to have all her secrets broadcasted like that. Bella didn’t realize it made her restless and vulnerable until she tried pulling her arm from Alice’s grip. It was like yanking on a locked door.

With an apologetic look, Alice let her go. Bella took the opportunity to cross her arms.

“Instinctive but structured. Abstract but realistic. Accurate and vague. I can’t get a lock,” Edward continued, not letting up any of his intensity.

“Then don’t,” Rosalie growled, taking a step forwards as if to physically stop him.

Bella was suddenly glad her software was incompatible with Edward’s intrusive gift, because seeing Rosalie’s composure slip to intimidate a boy who made her uncomfortable was truly a sight to behold. She was sure Edward wouldn’t want to hear her wax poetic about his sister.

Edward flinched at Rosalie’s movement, successfully snapping him out of his weirdly intense spell. “I apologize.”

Rosalie kept an eye on him a moment longer, then retreated to Bella’s side. She touched a hand to the small of her back. “Come, I’ll show you around,” she said in a voice so soft in comparison to just now, that Bella was swooning all over again.

Bella took the opportunity to escape with a grateful nod. Rosalie lead her away from the family, who were exchanging looks that ranged from disappointed (Esmee) to unsurprised (Alice and Emmett) to unsettled (Edward).

“Bye Bella!” Emmett called after them.

“Bye Emmett!” Bella turned around as she walked to wave at him, and couldn’t help but return the joyful smile Emmett gave her. She turned the right way forward just in time to see Rosalie was amused, too. “So do you only turn gorgeous people or is that a vampiric side effect?”

Emmett’s booming laugh echoed through the hallway.

Bella pressed her lips together, nodding to herself as she bore the laughter. “Right, vampiric hearing.”

“You’ll learn,” Rosalie chuckled, moving ahead to open a door for her.

Bella had to tear her eyes away from Rosalie’s gentle expression so she didn’t do something dumb like walk into the doorpost. “Is that the reason you couldn’t talk on the phone?” she asked, walking into what was a spacious garage and definitely not a room. It wasn’t as large as she’d imagined, but it was better equipped to work on cars, both in the tools and space department.

Bella turned to the sound of the door closing. Rosalie was unapologetically looking straight at her, as always, as she leaned back against the door. “They don’t know the details of your immortality. I thought it would be better to tell them at a different opportunity.” She tilted her head. “Is that okay?”

“Yeah, sure. You know them best, and I trust you,” Bella agreed, averting her eyes briefly. She grinned, looking up to find that Rosalie hadn’t moved an inch. “Though maybe leave out ‘daughter of a deity’ because that just makes me sound like Jesus.”

“Are you?”

A hint of a smile was visible on her face, Bella was relieved to find. She didn’t know what she’d do if Rosalie started worshipping her. “God, no. Jesus was a bit of a dudebro—I’m kidding, I’ve never met him, but his mom was cool—please interrupt me at any moment so I can stop making terrible jokes.”

The hint of a smile turned into a fullblown one. “You seem to be doing fine on your own,” Rosalie said, touching a hand to her shoulder as she brushed past her. “I’ll get the car and show you what I plan to do.”

Bella breathed some strength into her lungs. “Right, okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ngh, I wish I could fit in more puns. Gah!
> 
> Sad times ahead! I got Days Gone (the videogame) and I'm spending so much time on it D: (but also yay because really). Thankfully, I got it before I introduced the Drama.

**Author's Note:**

> I need a steel brush for the rust that's accumulated on my writing skills. Haha... ha... ha.


End file.
